October 19, 2025: Witch Hazel

Late fall is when Witch Hazel puts on its highly unusual show, and it's an appropriate time with Halloween just around the corner.  Witch hazel is the only shrub or tree I can think of that blooms in October, and it has really interesting flowers.

The twisted, filament-like flowers of Witch Hazel.

The seeds are maturing now as well.

The woody capsule which typically contains two seeds.

But these are the pods from last autumns flowers.  They will soon burst open in halves and shoot their seeds far and wide - up to 20 feet away.  I cut one open (it wasn't easy) and this was its contents:

The two large black seeds in the seed pod of the witch hazel.

Staying with the Wicwas witch theme, how about this cute little orb-weaver spider, the kind that weave beautiful geometric webs using those dexterous legs and all the different types of silk it creates:

An Orb-weaver spider, probably a Cross Orb-weaver

It's most likely a female, and on its final days as they don't survive the winter.  I gave it a little nudge with my finger and it curled right up to protect itself with all those legs.

Another classic October sight is flocks of turkeys that have gathered up together, traveling the land in search of food to fatten up for winter.  You frequently see them along roadsides, especially near fields, and though they usually run off the road and disappear into the woods, sometimes they are reluctant to do so.  I've seen them recently along local roads, at Oakland Cemetery, and yesterday morning, at the end of our road.

While I was enjoying the bright foliage of maple trees during a paddle this week, I came upon yet another hornets' nest, this one hanging over the lake from Sheep Island. 

This nest was about the size of a large melon - quite a bit smaller than the one I found two weeks ago. 

 

Next up on my paddle was a Great Blue Heron stalking fish or frogs beside a marsh. 

I expect our herons will be heading south soon, or perhaps to the coast or large rivers where there's open water all winter.  I didn't see our young loon on my paddles this week, but it's still a little early for a juvenile to leave the lake.

The fall foliage is past peak now but there are still plenty of bright red and orange maples and a few yellow aspen dotting the landscape.  

Finally, we took one last ride on the Cannon Tramway before they shut it down for replacement.  It will take two years to get the new one installed.  Built in 1980 to replace the original tram built in 1938 (the first in all of North America), this old friend served us well for 45 years.  If you want to take one last ride, do it before October 26th - that will be the end.    😞