Susan Cox
As I step outside for my morning exercise, I inhale brisk invigorating air. I see dew glistening on the branches of the evergreen trees at the Christmas tree farm as well as on the occasional spiderweb among the branches or on the ground. I round a curve where the sunlight hits the tops of the trees highlighting the reds, yellows, and oranges of changing leaves. When I go by the pasture, mist floats above the ground softening the outlines of the barn, the cow, the horses, and the goats.
I love this time of year! While it’s cool in the morning, the afternoons are pleasantly warm. Wearing a sweatshirt or jacket feels comfy. Mums are blooming providing bursts of color along with marigolds’ bright colors. Skeletons, pumpkins, scarecrows, witches, and ghosts add interest to the neighbors’ yards.
With the moderate temperatures and beautiful foliage, this is a great time to get outside. You could visit our local parks or walk or bike the People Trails. The Columbus Parks Foundation rescheduled their Tour de Trails Run/Walk from April to Nov. 2. You can pick the 5K or the 8K option. This year the event is partnering with the Nala Fund which provides medical care for dogs, and you can enjoy Nalapalooza with your pets in Mill Race Park after the race. Check out their website https://www.columbusparkfoundation.org/tour-de-trails-run-walk/ to learn more.
Perhaps you’d like to head over to Brown County State Park for a drive or hike to see the changing leaves. You can check out the Brown County leaf cam at https://browncounty.com/lp/leaf-cam/ to see how the leaves are changing before you head out. Or you could go on one of the scheduled fall color hikes. See https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/brown-county-state-park/#Activities for more information.
Many fun and/or scary events are scheduled this month including movies, hayrides, haunted houses, and even a celebration of the sightings of the Mill Race Monster. This Monster Show will take place on Oct 18 from 6-9 p.m. at 411 Sixth St. to showcase art related to the Mill Race Monster. There will be a costume contest, music, dancing, and food. The Columbus Area Visitor’s Center has an online calendar that shares many of these events at https://columbus.in.us/calendar/.
Maybe the night sky is more your thing. Brown County State Park is holding a Full Moon hike at Ogle Lake on Oct 18 at 7:30 p.m. This month’s full moon (Oct. 17) is another super moon which means the moon is near its closest approach to earth. Something I enjoy when I do my morning exercise in the few days after the full moon is seeing the moon set in the west and the sun rise in the east at about the same time. The moon will be setting between 8-10 a.m. Oct 17-19 while the sun will be rising around 7:55 a.m. on those days. NASA’s website https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/ has some great information on what you can see in the night sky. Nights aren’t too chilly yet and with the sun setting earlier than in the summer, you don’t have to stay up too late to see what’s happening above.
Fall is also a good time to work in your yard. Clean out dead plants or plant flower bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, crocuses, Asiatic lilies, peonies, and irises so you can have cheery flowers in the spring. You can also plant fruit trees at this time of year. Additionally, you could save seeds from plants you like so you can grow them next year. If you save more
seeds than you need, you could donate them to Cleo’s Seed Share at the Bartholomew County Public Library. You can learn more about the seed share and how to save your seeds with the resources the library provides at https://mybcpl.org/cleoseedshare.
Whatever you decide to do, I hope you enjoy this temperate season like I do.
Susan Cox is one of The Republic’s community columnists, and all opinions expressed are those of the writer. She is an avid reader, an outdoor enthusiast, a mother, a grandmother, and an adjunct instructor of English at Indiana University Columbus. Send comments to [email protected].
