there is a different kind of fall color, aside from leaves, and now that the leaves have mostly fallen, i’m having fun admiring the viburnums and mountain ash and  crabapples just as loaded with fall fruit as they were of spring blossoms. i also can’t help but admire the dark berry clusters of the buckthorn, even though, in this part of the world, that particular invasive is like the devil, taking over whole woodlands and crowding out the native understory. so i guess i could say it’s like the garden of eden around here right now. we’ve got apples. and we’ve got the devil.

wild apple, crabapple, and buckthorn branches

grass lake, saint paul, minnesota