Autumn at Ijams: a time of beauty, bounty, gluttony

Dogwood in fall at Ijams

At Ijams, autumn is a time of beauty. The sweet gums, the redbuds, the maples and their golds and yellows and reds. And dare I say oranges.

It's also a time of bounty. The natural harvest of acorns, walnuts, hickory nuts, beechnuts, the hard mast that litters the ground. And the soft mast: the pokeberries, the persimmons, the dogwood drupes, the beautyberries. 

This cornucopia leads to another time: a time of gluttony. It's the season to store away a larder for the cold weather to come; the season to fatten up, put on the feedbag, add some paunch, chow down, pig out, loosen your belt. 

The squirrels at Ijams have been hiding a lot of food, but they have also been chowing down as Rex McDaniel recently discovered. Below is his video:

- Stephen Lyn Bales