Signs of fall

When I came out to Pictured Rocks, I originally thought I would only be here in Michigan until the beginning of September, just after Labor Day. I probably misheard something during the interview - and my seasonal job at Yellowstone last year ended after Labor Day, so that was my default expectation. So I was a little surprised to learn that I was actually scheduled to work all the way through September! I didn't mind, except that it meant I would have to miss an event back in Missouri in late September. Still, I'm happy to earn a few more paychecks and be around to see the fall colors!

Now I've been asked to stay on a big longer than that. My last day will be October 18! I've worked several summers at various parks now (only one as an NPS employee, though) but this will be the longest I've stayed on at the end of the summer. It's going to be well into fall when I leave.

It's strange to be thinking about fall when it's only August, but I've been starting to see the signs already! We've been having some very cool weather - I actually had to turn on the little heater in the visitor center a few times last week.

I've been starting to see some colors in the trees, even! At first it was just a branch here and there - which can happen if the branch has broken and is dying. But I've been seeing more and more of them - mostly sugar maples, which have almost a neon orange-red color. It was still just here and there, though, and I was having a hard time believing it. It's not even September yet!

 

When I drove to Marquette today, I noticed a lot more colors. The tree-covered hillsides have had a subtle change - not to reds, yet, but just a lightening of the greens. The chlorophyll in the leaves is starting to fade, and there is more yellow showing through.

The final proof came when I drove past a marshy area with a grove of trees that were a full, deep, dark red. There was nowhere to stop, but I'm pretty sure they were red maples, which is another one of the main trees out here. It's strange seeing them out in the woods, because in Missouri I've only ever seen them used in landscaping - not wild.

So there is no doubt in my mind - autumn is almost here! The main fall colors are supposed to be in mid-September, but there are an awful lot of trees that are sneaking in early - and not sneaking very well!

I cannot wait to see this all unfold. A whole forest of sugar maples! The only thing that even comes close is when I drove home from Idaho in September 2012, through Rocky Mountain National Park, right at the peak of the aspens' color. Oh, wait, there are aspens here, too... I have a feeling this place is going to win!