Today in the Gardeners Journal - October 17

Sunday, October 17

Although it was a stunningly beautiful fall day, perfect for doing yard work and fall clean up I decided to put my tasks aside for the day and enjoy nature at its fullest. I grabbed my camera and ventured into the woods behind my home.

It's the area that I've always only looked upon from the edge of my yard and not fully appreciated. Today was different though as I saw the sun shining through the trees I felt an uninhibited need to explore nature and appreciate what grows wild and lays quietly in the unsuspecting parts of my world.

There was no judgment, no thoughts of "I need to change this or that", only enjoyment and looking at nature from the ground up. What I found surprised me as I walked through the woods.

As I walked towards this part of my yard I found my first unexpected surprise, a woolly bear caterpillar crawling hastily through the grass as if he was leading the way!

As I entered into the heavily wooded area I came across another friendly creature, none other than one of the frogs that I hear singing every night. How perfectly he stood until I captured this picture.  It was then that I realized that this was going to be a great exploration and looked with new eyes at the beautiful woods that edges my property.

It's amazing how tree trunks can present such stature in nature. I wondered if squirrels enjoy shelter in this old broken trunk and then noticed a nail on the side. Who put it there I wondered as these woods have not been touched in years?


Perhaps the same person that enjoyed this old bottle of soda?

As I walked throughout the sticker bushes and brush I realized what beautiful foliage can be found just by looking in the most unexpected places. Moss growing on logs sets a beautiful picture just waiting to be noticed!

Surprise! I found this salamander basking in the sun!

My intentions of this visit was to appreciate nature and view the day as simple as possible.

As gardeners sometimes we are so focused on the work in our gardens that we often forget about the beauty that comes naturally without the everyday labor or planning. 

While walking further I found this incredible stump that provided a perfect back drop and shelter to the fern that gracefully leaned against it. I was taken back by the peacefulness that this area provided. A place that I will definitely visit again.


While walking back towards my home, my eyes were intrigued by this beautiful cluster of red berries. Alas! they were Arum italicum berries which appear after the flowers! As a young child I remember my mother showing me these plants in the woods and cautioning me not to touch the berries because they contain Calcium oxalate which is a poisonous substance that can produce sores and numbing when ingested. Did you know that Arums are members of the Araceae family along with native skunk cabbage?

While looking at my garden from the edge of the woods I realized I have beauty inside and out, inside my garden where I tediously plan, weed and harvest, and then out in the wooded natural area that I've always considered an area of future transformation. I've decided that this area will stay as it is so I can enjoy nature at its most untouched innocence.