September has come and passed. According to the celestial bodies, we entered into autumn several days ago. September was filled with weather that made me uneasy about the impending change in season that I haven't experienced in two years. Unusually large amounts of rain couple with unusually cold temperatures and the winds typical of West Central Minnesota made me think that I've lost my ability to adapt to cold weather (in ecology, this ability is termed phenotypic plasticity; we're being tested on this on Wednesday). I was beginning to think the only solution was to seek refuge in the tropics again.
However, today was a beautiful fall day. Our ecology class spent the day at Lake Carlos State Park near Alexandria, MN. We hiked through the forest, learned how to identify much of the vegetation and did an exercise in forest sampling. Many of our lab activities this semester have been dampened (literally) by inclement weather. Standing out on the prairie in blowing rain, trying keep your notebook dry while simultaneously taking notes inside a plastic bag, although laughable, is not all that enjoyable. We do it in the name of being hardcore, and feel justified in calling ourselves ecologists as a result.
But today, today fall colors were at their peak. The forest was illuminated from the outside in with that lustrous yellow that comes but once a year. The air was crisp and fresh, and an army of fifty ecologists traipsing through piles of fallen leaves created quite the symphony. Today's weather brought me back to the beauty of fall in Minnesota. There is joy in having a cold nose and a body warm from hiking in layers. There is opportunity for silence such that you can hear the leaves falling singly to the ground. A sack lunch eaten outside is always more satisfying than eating anything indoors. It is beautiful to feel the warmth of sun on your face even though the air around you is crisp.
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