If I Were Going...: Fall Colors

Looking for fall

Scott had been wanting to photograph some fall color, so he set up a trip with his photographer pal, William Jones, to catch some Midwest leaves in late September/early October. He drove and asked me to fly out at the end of his adventure with Will, so that I could ride home with him. I didn’t have a lot of time, but I managed to squeeze it in. I flew to Cincinnati for free (using the vouchers I got from American Airlines after they messed up my fees for my flight to Alaska).

Pretty trees

We tried to determine whether we could get some good fall colors, using a number of leaf peeper websites, but so many factors go into the change of the season, we didn't really get peak. Of course, with all the rain the Midwest was getting, the leaves may have all been blown off (or knocked off) the trees before the leaves got really bright.

We did encounter some very pretty trees and I think, had it been sunny, we might have had some spectacular photos.

A little photoshop was very helpful in coaxing out what we wanted to see.

I would classify the trip as mildly successfully. It didn't produce quite the results we wanted and the rain seemed to have chased most of the birds away. Still, we did see some pretty sights.

I started in Cincinnati a day before Scott got back from Pennsylvania and New York. It was unseasonably hot and the trees were not yet golden. I had a goal of finding some migrating birds and was planning to visit Rawson Woods Bird Preserve. Unfortunately, I missed the section of the website that said that you needed to arrange a private tour to visit. I found it, but couldn't figure out any way to get in, so I had to find some other places.

So, I headed to Mount Airy Forest, where the surroundings were lovely. Established in 1911, Mount Airy was one of the earliest, if not the first, urban reforestation project in the United States. With nearly 1,500 acres, it's the largest park in Cincinnati's park system.

Mushrooms

The originally forested land was cleared for agricultural use in the 19th century, but years of poor grazing and agricultural practices led to severe erosion and poor soil composition. As quoted in a 1914 Cincinnati Times-Star editorial, a farmer remarked that his nearby farm "was a good one when he first took it up, but that since he had cleared off all the trees it had slid down the creek and was to be found somewhere in the neighborhood of New Orleans."

There were a few birds there, including lots of Red-bellied Woodpeckers …

The name is silly: the head is much redder than the belly

… a few Chipping Sparrows …

Chipping away

… and Black-capped Chickadees …

Lots of the same birds we have in Colorado

… plus an adorable Tufted Titmouse (look at that cute little thing!) …

Look at that cute little thing

... and, some active -- and curious -- Eastern Gray Squirrels …

Lots of Squirrels

But, quite frankly, there wasn’t much happening, so I moved on the Ault Park, the fourth-largest park in Cincinnati. The hilltop Park lies in the Mount Lookout neighborhood on the city's east side and has an overlook with extensive panoramic views of the Little Miami River Valley. It also has an impressive flower garden, beautiful even though it was past its summer prime.

Pretty flowers

In 1980, the Cincinnati Park Board asked its volunteer organization to implement an adopt-a-plot program. The program was a huge success and, in 1983, the park won the Daniel Flaherty Park Excellence Award competition.

The adopt-a-plot program is still in use today and has become popular in parks throughout the U.S.

Ault Park has a large pavilion, built in 1930 in the Italian Renaissance-style, that is used frequently for dances, parties and weddings.

The Park is the site of a large 4th of July celebration and fireworks display, as well as the Ault Park Concours d'Elegance (an invitational Antique and Exotic car display that is the second oldest of its type in the United States). During the summer, the Park also hosts a summer concert series and an Annual Dance Night. In 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of approximately 15,000 people from the pavilion.

I did see an informal wedding while I was there, but nothing as exciting as Barack Obama. I was looking for birds, but there weren't many. Just some additional Red-Bellied Woodpeckers and a few American Robins ...

American Robin (pssstt ... it is really a Thrush, not a Robin)

But, it was a treasure trove of bugs ...

I had a great time chasing insects

There were lots and lots of Monarch Butterflies …

The most famous butterfly

Monarch Butterflies

The Monarch is the most familiar North American butterfly and is considered an iconic pollinator species. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange and white pattern, with a wingspan of 3 1⁄2 to 4 inches.

Close-up

The eastern North American Monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the northern and central U.S. and southern Canada to Florida and Mexico. During the fall, Monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north.

I think I was seeing migrating butterflies at Ault.

The name "Monarch" is believed to be given in honor of King William III of England, whose secondary title, Prince of Orange, makes a reference to the butterfly's main color.

There are three species of Monarch butterflies:

The species known most commonly as the Monarch Butterfly of North America has a range that extends worldwide; it can be found in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the Pacific Islands. In Oahu, about 10 percent are white morphs called nivosus that are grayish-white in all areas of its wings that are normally orange.

The Southern Monarch is found in tropical and subtropical South America, mainly in Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and southern Peru.

The Jamaican Monarch ranges from Jamaica to Hispaniola.

Matching the flowers

The shape and color of the wings change at the beginning of the migration and appear redder and more elongated than later migrants. Wings size and shape differ between migratory and non-migratory Monarchs. Monarchs from eastern North America have larger and more angular forewings than those in the western population.

Monarch flight has been described as "slow and sailing" and they often alight for long periods on plants, making them easier to photograph than other butterflies.

Monarch flight speed has been estimated to be about 5.5 mph. For comparison, the average human jogs at a rate of 6-8 mph.

Another close-up

Monarch Butterflies have six legs like all insects, but use only their middle and hind legs; the forelegs are vestigial and just held against the body. Male Monarchs have a black patch or spot on each hindwing.

The male's black wing veins are lighter and narrower than those of females.

Males have larger wings and are heavier than females, but female Monarchs have thicker wings with greater tensile strength. This would make female wings less likely to be damaged during migration. Also, females have lower "wing loading" (the ratio of wing size to body weight), which means females require less energy to fly.

Such fun with the butterflies

There were also a few Cabbage White Butterflies …

A Cabbage White on white flowers

It is widespread and is believed to have originated in Europe or Asia. It is also found in North Africa and has been accidentally introduced to North America, Bermuda, Australia and New Zealand. The caterpillar of this species is seen as a pest for commercial agriculture. Often referred to as the "imported cabbageworm," they are a serious pest to cabbage and other mustard family crops.

Common Eastern Bumblebees

I saw a lot of Common Eastern Bumblebees, which are the most commonly encountered Bumblebees across much of eastern North America ...

It's hard to ID Bumblebees

They can be found in the temperate forest region of the eastern United States, southern Canada and the eastern Great Plains. Because of their great adaptability, they can live in country, suburbs and even urban cities (Ault is definitely suburban). They are considered one of the most important species of pollinator bees in North America, leading to an increase in their commercial use by the greenhouse industry. This increase consequently led to their farther spread outside their previous distribution range.

Lots of pollen to gather

Common Eastern Bumblebees have short and even hair, medium-sized heads with cheeks that are similar in width to their heads and a long and rectangular body.

In general, Queens and Workers look similar, but Queens have bigger bodies.

In addition to the difference in their sizes, males slightly differ in their coloring. While Queens and Workers are both black with a yellow thorax and first abdominal segment, males have a yellow face and head.

Common Eastern Bumblebees live in nests one to three feet below the ground. They enter their nests using tunnels that are 18 inches to 9 feet long. Unlike the nests of honeybees or paper wasps, the nests do not have a predictable pattern. The bees lay egg clumps all over inside the nest instead of having one brood area around which the workers' distribution center is arranged.

I caught one in flight!

Inside the nest, the Worker bees distribute themselves to be a certain distance away from the center. The labor for the Workers is divided according to their body size.

Smaller bees are usually found near the center and have the job of feeding the larvae.

Larger Worker bees are usually found at the periphery, working as foragers and guards.

Foragers use a strategy called traplining, in which the bees visit their food sources in a repeatable sequence, to improve their efficiency, especially in an unfamiliar environment. The "traplines" the bees establish remain stable for long periods of time.

Common Eastern Bumblebees become faster and more accurate as they become more experienced at foraging and the returning foragers tend to stimulate the foraging activity of the colony. They improve their foraging activity by communicating with others in their nests to share their abilities to associate scents of good food sources.

Flowers and bees

Common Eastern Bumblebees can actually eat pollen and nectar, but most bees in the colony eat honey that is made using the pollen and nectar since it has higher nutritional value. To create honey, the bees consume the pollen and the nectar, and then regurgitate them, mixing them with enzymes in their stomachs.

Bees play in a significant role in pollinating crops, especially tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries and pumpkins.

Super close-up

More

On all the bushes, there were quite a few Funnel Weaver Spiders, including this fierce guy and his unfortunate lunch …

Weaving the funnel

I also snagged pictures of a Venusta Orchard Spider with its lovely purple, silver and green markings …

A very small spider

... A Yellow-Collared Scape Moth ...

It's amazing what you see when you start looking

… and some cute little Cucumber Spotted Beetles …

Looks like a Lady Bug (which is also a Beetle)

… including one I captured in a Georgia O’Keefe-like setting …

Nature inspires art

Color

I had fun shooting the bugs, but when Scott arrived, we beat it out of town, heading north for some color and cooler weather.

We headed up through Ohio and Indiana, not really stopping for anything and finally finding some color in Michigan.

We took a little time to stop on the shores of Lake Michigan (I actually stuck my foot on – cold, but not too).

Lake Michigan

We camped one night at Petoskey State Park on Little Traverse Bay. It was a lovely campsite, but the “hot” showers were not. Sometimes it is better to have no shower. Cold doesn’t cut it when the weather is cool and rainy.

But, otherwise, the Park was very pretty with nice campsites and a nice view of Lake Michigan.

Sunset

It started to rain during the night, so we really didn’t stay too long.

The park occupies part of the site that housed a tannery at the mouth of what came to be called Tannery Creek. Opening in 1885, the tannery occupied 180 acres. At its peak, the tannery employed some 200 workers and processed over 1000 hides -- primarily bison -- per day. The tannery closed in 1952, and its buildings were torn down in 1963. The City of Petoskey purchased a portion of the tannery's land north of Tannery Creek in 1934 and created the Petoskey Bathing Beach. The state of Michigan purchased the beach in 1968 and opened the park's campground in 1970.

The next morning, we headed for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (home of the pastie and the Yooper). There, we finally hit some pretty colors …

Yooper color

First, in the interior along a river that I cannot recall the name of …

Fall in the midwest!

And, then at Grand Marais …

Nice color, gray skies

We made a stop at the 95,212-acre Seney National Wildlife Refuge, which I assume is probably a great place to be in the summer and during the spring bird migration.

Female Scaup making an exit

The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is built upon the remains of the Great Manistique Swamp, a perched sand wetland located in the central Upper Peninsula. After its forests were heavily exploited in 1880-1910, promoters attempted to drain the swamp for farmland. The drainage was a failure and left the wetland crisscrossed with canals, ditches and drainage ponds. Much of the property was then abandoned for unpaid property taxes.

During the 1930s, work crews employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) rebuilt, restored and expanded the wetland drains, this time for active wetlands management purposes.

Taken on a much nicer day!

Seney NWR

When Michigan's Seney National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935, the Canada Goose ("Canada" NOT "Canadian"), which is so common now, was a threatened species.

What????

Widespread, year-round hunting (legal and illegal) had reduced the North American population of free-flying Canada Geese to a trickle of birds that avoided human beings as much as possible.

One of the priorities of the new Seney NWR was to establish a refuge for free-flying Canada Geese.

In January 1936, during the first winter of the Seney Refuge's operation, the refuge trucked in 300 pinioned Canada Geese. These flightless Geese were given a fenced-in pond area within the Refuge and were fed. It was hoped that they would produce a crop of goslings that would establish a migratory pattern of behavior and voluntarily return to the Refuge. The goslings were banded so that if they returned, the Refuge's would know it.

Also, not taken at Seney

Every year, a shrinking crop of Canada Goslings hatched and flew south for the winter, but few returned in the following spring.

Poaching was apparently continuing in the geese wintering grounds and on the flyways. Meanwhile, the parent population of wing-clipped Canada Geese diminished between 1936 and 1945 from 300 to 45.

March 1946 marked a turnaround when 16 banded, free-flying Canada Geese returned. They were the start of a Seney flock that bred continuously in the following years.

The Seney Canada Goose breeding population had multiplied to 3,000 birds by 1956 and continued to expand thereafter even after local hunting was re-legalized. The Seney National Wildlife Refuge's Canada Goose Project is considered to have been one of the key programs in re-establishing the Canada Goose as a major wetland bird of North America. Should we be happy? I don’t know.

Trumpeter Swan

We drove the seven-mile Marshland Wildlife Drive that follows wetlands, meadows and forests. Other loops are closed to cars in late fall, winter and spring to give migrating and nesting birds a place to rest or nest undisturbed.

Seney has logged more than 210 species of birds, including Bald Eagles, Trumpeter Swans, Osprey, Sandhill Cranes and Common Loons.

While the Refuge is oriented towards maintaining living space for bird life, River Otters, North American Beavers, Moose, Black Bears and Wolves, it was a pretty quiet day while we were there.

Canada Geese and Trumpeter Swans

… and some just on their own …

The dark is stains from the weeds and lake tannin

We saw Common Mergansers …

A female stretching

… and Ring-necked Ducks …

The bill ring is more prominent than the neck ring

… not really a whole lot on that gloomy day. But, it was a pleasant drive.

We also drove down a narrow road, looking for a place for Scott to fly his drone ...

A strange bird

We did see some pretty trees – with a different look than the big, expansive red, orange and yellow ones we had been seeing …

A quiet lane just off the Interstate

We ended up having to back up to get out after we encountered mud. A nice little diversion.

But, still the weather! Windy. Gray. Rainy. Just not good for photography. So, we just decided to head home.

The Bridges of Madison County

We didn’t do much on the trip home, except a brief detour to visit two of the covered bridges of Madison County. Yes, those bridges!!!

Covered bridge

Madison County is the “Covered Bridge Capital of Iowa,” with the largest group of covered bridges that exists in one area in the western half of the Mississippi Valley.

It's a thing

There is an 82-mile-long road, the Covered Bridges Scenic Byway, that you can follow to see the county’s six covered bridges, all of which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s.

In 1992, Robert James Waller published a best-seller about the area set in the mid-60s. The Bridges of Madison County is about a lonely Italian-American housewife named Francesca who has a brief affair with a National Geographic photographer who comes to take photos of the local covered bridges.

The book is presented as a novelization of a true story, but it is in fact entirely fictional. The novel is one of the bestselling books of the 20th century, with 60 million copies sold worldwide.

Photo: The Bridges of Madison County

The 1995 film version starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep was shot in Madison County and made the area a big tourist attraction. A musical was produced in 2013.

The first bridge we visited was the Hogback Covered Bridge. Built in 1884, the 97-foot-long bridge is in its original location in a valley north of Winterset.

Hogback

Hogback gets its name from the limestone ridge that forms the west end of the valley. It was renovated in 1992 at a cost of $118,810.

Pretty well preserved

Next we visited the Roseman Bridge, a 107-feet long and also sits in its original location. Built in 1883, it was renovated in 1992 at a cost of $152,515. In the novel and the movie, Roseman was the bridge Robert Kincaid seeks when he stops at Francesca Johnson’s home for directions. It is also where Francesca leaves her note inviting him to dinner.

A pretty green setting

Known as the “haunted” bridge, Roseman is where two sheriff’s posses trapped a county jail escapee in 1892. It is said the man rose up straight through the roof of the bridge, uttered a cry and disappeared. He was never found and it was decided that anyone capable of such a feat must be innocent.