September 5

Tuesday, I returned to a favorite hiking venue, the 60-acre, Mission Creek Park in Mt. Pleasant. The early morning weather was sunny with a temperature of 57 degrees and no wind. Leaving the parking lot, I hiked east on the Creek Trail where I spotted the bright red fruit of False Solomon Seals. These pea size berries are edible with a bittersweet flavor suggesting bitter molasses. Turning south, I entered the Overlook Trail where the trail took me through a dense forest whose canopy was dominated by leaves of mature Beech and Maple trees. Along the way, I noticed one of several Beech Drops which are chlorophyll-lacking parasitic plants that feed on the roots of the surrounding Beech trees. Also, I came upon fruiting White Baneberry. Also known as “doll’s eyes”, these berries are poisonous. Leaving the trail, I turned east and descended a steep bluff into a wet, muddy area covered with cattails and a few smaller trees including this Witch Hazel whose leaves were beginning to change colors as autumn approaches. Other examples of foliage color change nearby included: Sugar Maples, Sensitive ferns and Maidenhair ferns. Continuing to wander through these mudflats, I spotted a clump of Small flower Asters and circular blob of white  slime mold growing on a downed tree trunk. A few inch-long, immature cones of Canadian Hemlock also caught my eye. Turning north and trudging through a dense patch of cattails, I came upon some blossoms of Bottle Gentain. Since these blossoms never open, only a few insects are adapted to open the flower and tap into the copious amount of sugar-laden nectar that awaits them. Next, I came to the sledding hill, turned west and climbed the stairs. Finally, I returned to the car and headed home.

… sedges flaunt their harvest,
In every meadow nook;
And asters by the brook-side
Make asters in the brook,
From dewy lanes at morning
The grapes' sweet odors rise;
At noon the roads all flutter
With yellow butterflies.
 By all these lovely tokens
 September days are here,
 With summer's best of weather,
 And autumn's best of cheer…

Helen Hunt Jackson