Autumn is everyone’s favorite season, at least when fall is in play.

Fall is open seven days a week, day and night, for several months. 

Fall’s outdoors is much more than school forests, arboreta and state parks with colorful sugar maples and aspens, oaks and hickories, walnuts and tamaracks.

We all have recognizable signals that trigger this happy harvest time.  I believe it begins for most of us when humidity plummets after August along with dropping temperatures creating a kinder, nicer, gentler person but still with some excitement in our steps and more frequent recesses in our travels.   

Summer’s phrase, “Take time to smell the beebalm,” becomes, “Take time to smell the fallen leaves,”

Fall, most of the time, seems to be appreciated without realizing it, without concentrating on sensing it, but from time to time we do go looking rather than letting the season come to us.  This can get us in trouble because our expectations may higher than realities, particularly when it comes to leaf color.

We ask for a forecast of what’s to come and even talk about peak times for this and that. So many of these peaks are rolling graphs with one tree species, branch or leaf reaching its zenith and another sliding off the peak,  No net gain.

Take it for what it is and go with a smaller fall encompassing a cornfield instead of hundred acres of uninterrupted gold.  Even a bright rose hip can bring the o’s and ah’s for a moment until a purple aster stand feeding a bumblebee is bumped into.

Wayne Whitemarsh, in Sauk City, Wisconsin, noticed changes when nightfall began cutting into his neighborhood back porch social hours.

Don Martin, of Martin’s in Monroe, Wisconsin, too, first notices walking home from the sport shop is closer to dark.  He can’t leave the store much but a short local drive to see corn turn bicolor tan and green is as good as a maple forest, even though there are plenty of both in Green County, Wisconsin. 

Travis Anderson, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife supervisor for Iowa and Lafayette counties was pleasantly reminded of the season at hand when he experienced a white oak acorn shower simulating a hail storm.

“The best I can say about the mast crop is it’s inconsistent, sometimes like this and sometimes fewer nuts.  Squirrel, turkey and deer hunters may notice it, too,” he said.  “White pine seed cone production is slim this fall, too.”

Wayne Smith, of Blanchardville, Wisconsin, opened his autumn in northern Wisconsin seeing lots of bears and fewer ruffed grouse.  The elk gang was there signaling autumn with their mating bugles.

Gary and Sue Howards, in Oregon, Wisconsin have seen fall with birds flocking, hummingbirds leaving, and robins not yet sure.

“We had to put another blanket on the bed,” Gary Howards said.  “That should tell us something.  I’ve been out sitting in the tree stand, too, and took the bow and shotgun because turkeys come by regularly and I’m not ready to take a deer in this weather.” 

Jeff Fredrick, turkey art and hunting guru in Mindoro, Wisconsin has noticed shorter days and birds spending more time in the roost, but wishes the fall hunting season would open later, mid-October, to give the poults a few more weeks to fill out.

Autumn is everywhere and is noticed by touch, smell, taste, sight and sound.  Leaves are beginning to mold in the woods.  It’s a great smell.  Thousands of hitchhiking plant parts all feel the same; unpleasant.  The late garden vegetables and fruits taste special.  Nuts make a special sound hitting dry leaves.  And who doesn’t like the color and texture of a red and orange bittersweet fruit hanging on a vine.  All small fall but a big story to tell.

Deer and turkey registrations are beginning to appear on the WDNR website.

Camouflage and blaze orange clothing is appearing on outside clothes lines.  Arrow targets are appearing.  Be careful of backdrops.  Deer carriers are more common near car rear bumpers.

Professional baseball and football are no longer the only Sunday afternoon game in town, but yellowing white pine needle, mixed with healthy green ones plead to remember the Packers.

Gatherers are out in force, picking nuts, calling turkeys, photographing landscapes and individual leaves, and fishing, too.

Contact Jerry Davis, a freelance writer, at sivadjam@mhtc.net or 608.924.1112.