blushing symmetry

Burning bush is indeed remarkable in autumn. But my favorite ones are the bushes that do not get enough sun, and turn pink in fall instead of scarlet red. The softer the pink, the better as far as I am concerned. The beautiful symmetry––both horizontal and vertical––of these leaves make them one of my favorite materials to make repeating patterns and tessellations with. But alas, it takes patience to line up all those leaves just so, and this autumn has been so unusual and splendid that it is taking every minute of free time I have just to capture it before it all disappears on the wind.

burning bush in autumn (Euonymus alatus)

It is the harmony of the diverse parts,
their symmetry, their happy balance;
in a word it is all that introduces order,
all that gives unity,
that permits us to see clearly and to comprehend at once
both the ensemble and the details.
–Henri Poincare

no frost yet

I just googled to remind myself when the average historic first frost is in the Twin Cities: “The average or typical first fall freeze in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area is October 10 to October 11”. Welp, so we are two weeks behind average, which is not unheard of. But what is crazy is that I just looked at the forecast and there is no frost threat for two weeks. I am making hay, as they say, capturing as mush of the remaining fall color as I possibly can because as soon as November’s gray blanket descends, STILL will start to look very different.

Autumn Blaze Maple (Acer × freemanii ‘Jeffersred’), a hybrid tree bred from a cross between red maple (Acer rubrum) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

leopard prints and keystone species

I sort of ignored the oaks this year. So many of our other plants––especially the sumacs––turned such distinctive and unusual colors this fall that I didn’t even take notice of the oaks. But the leopard print effect on the leaves of this red oak grabbed my attention yesterday while I was out walking.

In the North, the oaks are considered our keystone tree. Are you familiar with keystone trees? A keystone tree is a species that has an outsized, disproportionate impact on its environment relative to its abundance. Oaks (Quercus) are widely considered the pinnacle of wildlife value because they hold the entire food web together by supporting hundreds of species of caterpillars, birds, and mammals. If a keystone tree is removed, the ecosystem radically changes or collapses.

northern red oak leaves in autumn (Quercus rubra)

going all in

Any of you who check in here regularly probably know by now that when we Hoffmans are piqued by a new interest we go ALL IN. We don’t just casually learn a few facts nor spend an hour down an internet rabbit hole to satisfy our curiosity and then move on. Ohhh, no. We can become singular in our attention, and our devotion, and maybe even borderline obsessed. Right now, Steve is in that uniquely Hoffman place with hazelnuts. He is under assignment to write an article on them, due next week, which triggered an entire autumn affair. So now we buy hazelnut oil, hazelnut flour, hazelnut cookies, hazelnut granola and trail mixes, any and all chocolate bars with hazelnuts, and of course, the nuts themselves. Steve has ordered books from Europe, visited hazelnut farms, harvested with the U of M researchers, and walked trails with experts. He probably has enough material to write a book on hazelnuts. But instead he has only a 1200 word article to work within. But that is how we roll at our house. These are hazelnut leaves from the U of M’s hazelnut research center. Hazelnuts are in the birch family, but their fall leaves are so much more colorful than our native birches. Who knew? Steve probably did.

hazel tree (or hazelnut bush) autumn leaves

sparrow grass

I love happening up a patch of feral asparagus in the fall with its golden ferny needle-like leaves (cladodes) and brilliant orange berries. Did you know that asparagus is sometimes called “sparrow grass” in England? The English word asparagus originally derives from Medieval Latin sparagus. I like eating asparagus; I don’t love it. But I do love seeing it along my trails in October.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)