I LOVE AUTUMN
by Larry Whiteley
Autumn is a time that lingers in your heart and mind. After a hot summer, cooler temperatures refresh our bodies and souls. The landscape is awash with colors. Sunsets are coppery. Something within you yearns to be outdoors soaking in the many wonders of the autumn season.
Some of us yearn for autumn waters. Most any kind of water will do for an overnight alone on a gravel bar or at a campground away from the craziness of our daily lives. With the water some degrees cooler, fish life takes on new vigor. They know it is time to put on a layer of winter fat and respond accordingly to our offerings.
Some will wade and enjoy casting a fly. Some will be in a boat casting a lure. Some will paddle around in a canoe or kayak while fishing or not. We crappie fishermen will be busy stocking our freezer with delicious crappie. We all need to take the time to slow down and glory in the autumn season.
Autumn sights are unmistakable. Trees surrounding the water where we fish are all dressed in autumn colors. Their reflection in the waters gives us a double treat of color.
Autumn smells drift through the cool air. Smoke from chimneys and campfires. Someone grilling or smoking meat in their backyard. It could also be the smell of crappie frying in a skillet.
The sounds of autumn are distinct. Crickets sing their songs about the summer ending. Squirrels and chipmunks chatter and raise a leafy rattle as they scurry for acorns to bury and hopefully find again as autumn fades into winter. Migrating geese cut across autumn skies in wide V’s. Their calls are reassurance to one another. Their chorus of honks starts softly, then loudly, and then fade away.
A colorful autumn camping trip has a magic all its own. Late night, sitting close to the campfire, holds an attraction that is hard to match. Owls hoot up and down the river talking of their plans for the evening. Stars twinkle in the night sky. The flames dance and flicker. Campers shift their cold side to the fire and ponder their place in the world. Days are filled with fishing, hiking, exploring, or relaxing.
To fishermen who also enjoy hunting, the autumn season is an important time of the year. Fields and forest beckon us. Dogs wiggle and squirm at the prospects of a hunt. The upland hunter yearns to see a flushing pheasant or grouse. Waterfowl hunters get excited just thinking about ducks and geese coming to their calls. Deer hunters dream of trophy racks or roast venison.
This is the season those of us who love the outdoors live for. I love autumn.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ~ George Eliot, Novelist & Poet
