Alert: Canopy Collapse!

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Alert: Canopy Collapse!
10.9.09

Henny Penny, when clobbered by a falling acorn warned, “The sky is falling!” This is the short lived season of fall color followed quickly by the leaves falling and finally canopy collapse. It takes such a short time in the Auglaize County landscape to observe the changes that autumn brings.

Fall marks the final stage in the life cycle of plants when they produce fruit containing seeds for new plants to grow. We call these fruit by different names- nuts, pods, beans, berries.

Walk along the Miami and Erie Canal Towpath Trail and find large cocoa brown bean pods of the honey locust. Softball sized bumpy green fruit from the Osage-orange or hedge apples thorny trees litter the path in places. The trail is stained from the husks of walnuts under the almost bare walnut trees.

There are trees that give it up early like the buckeye that has already lost its leaves and fruit and stands bare in the leafy woods. Other trees, such as oaks, will hold their leaves long after frosty winds have blown down the rest of the canopy. But the canopy will collapse in short order, changing the view shed around us.

Vining plants are easy to pick out this time of year. Virginia creeper (5 leaflets) and poison ivy (3 leaflets) foliage both turn scarlet early, often before their host tree, making these vines easy to spot.

A favorite of the fall season is the bittersweet vine. It winds itself up tree trunks, reaching for sunlight all summer. Then, laden with berries, it bends down over our heads, flashing its orange-red berries.

The show-stoppers of autumn are the maple and sweet gum trees in their yellow, orange and red attire. Staghorn sumac shows bright red along roadsides and burning bush ignites our fall landscape with flaming red foliage.

This leaf-turn season is a beautiful time of year that does not last long. Don’t waste another day, get outside and take a look around. From day to day you can gauge the change in season by looking at the color of leaves, dropping of fruit (seed pods) and the leaf-fall. The beauty of this season disappears so quickly.

Mark your calendar for Walk with Nature, Sunday, October 18, Noon-4 PM. Choose a 2, 3.5, 7 or 9 mile hike then take a free shuttle bus back to the start. .This Miami and Erie Canal Towpath Trail hike has been going on for 40 years, sponsored by the St. Marys Kiwanis and other loyal partners.

Find a hiking map at www.meccainc.org or pick up one at the shuttle stop. Start your hike at Lock 14 Park at Lock 14 Rd., 40 Acer Pond at Glynwood Rd., St. Marys Memorial Park or the canal crossing on SR 219. A shuttle bus will make regular rounds to pick up hikers at these points. Hike part (2-3.5miles between shuttle stops) or hike all 9 miles. Enjoy food music and fun at Memorial Park. Contact the St. Marys Area Chamber at 419.303.4611 for more information.

Allison Brady, Executive Director
Heritage Trails Park District
Your partner for parks in Auglaize County