Sure, October is my favorite month!

At least that’s my vote for now as I savor the ongoing delights of this fall season!

Maybe it’s because I like the applesauce from the bumper crop produced by our old Wealthy tree.

We can’t keep up with the bushels of fruit that have rained down. Friends, deer, rabbits, and insects have shared the plenty.

Farmer friends mostly welcomed the warm and dry weeks to get a jump on crop harvest.

But there came a point where they were glad for the rain showers that brought a break in the dawn-to-dusk grind – and added a bit of moisture to soybean pods to reduce the loss from shattering.

Northeast Iowa’s fall color show, as often happens, materialized by fits and starts, with forests of still-green oaks contrasting with yellowing cottonwoods and bright-red sumacs. Some walnut trees started shedding leaves a month ago, leaving clusters of nuts hanging on bare branches. But be careful walking under those trees, lest you get smacked by a falling walnut that finally decided to let go!

Many of our prairie flowers are fading, but several species of purple-pink-white-blue aster species still tint the woodland edges. Their blossoms beckon bumblebees and other insects seeking a drink of a late-season nectar.

On an outing to Pike’s Peak State Park, near McGregor, we were lucky to find witch hazel shrubs in bloom. Their tiny, twisted, yellow petals are distinctive for flowering in the fall.

The view of the Mississippi River from Pike’s Peak is one of Iowa’s most iconic locations for autumn “leaf-lookers.” But with colors not quite at the peak during our visit, we were content with watching a flock of gulls on the sandbar far below, and an occasional migrating turkey vulture drifting southward along the bluff.

Through the years, we’ve learned that the color show often is right under our noses – out our windows, on our gravel road, or where we may take it for granted.

Many spring and summer nesting birds have migrated south. But our resident bluebirds continue to regularly entertain us with their splashing in our bird bath.

We even find beauty in the occasional rainy days, which may actually seem to enrich the hues.

Ah, October! (Hoping May doesn’t get TOO jealous . . . It’s her turn next spring!)

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