The final segment of the Beverly Shores trail system which brought me down into the marsh from the Dune Ridge. Just about a month ago this path was waist high with grasses and passing through was like running a tick gauntlet. It was recently cut back, I believe for a park wide event celebrating the great outdoors.

And here we are at the beginning of the eastern end of the closed portion of Beverly Dr. As you can see all of the brush has been cleared from both sides of the roadway. If you check my previous posts on this area I show this same stretch of road for comparison purposes.

I did not see a single wildflower along either the Dune Ridge or the Beverly Shores trails. But down here in the marsh itself there were a few hangers on. Not too many, but this fellow was putting out one last bloom before calling it quits for the season.

All summer long this stretch of Beverly Dr was an awesome spot for butterflies, and milkweed is a big part of the reason why. Lots and lots of milkweed. Even though much of the brush was cleared along the road bed, there were still plenty of milkweed pods open. It is always fun to see them after they have opened up.

This milkweed pod has just recently popped open and you can see the mass of seeds spilling out. It was not particularly windy, but it these seeds respond to even the slightest puff of air and it took a lot of patience to wait for it to remain still long enough to get a clear photograph. I spent probably 5 minutes with the camera sitting on a tripod, enjoying the afternoon while until the mass of seeds stilled for just the briefest moment so I could snap the shutter.

I don’t know how long the asphalt will remain visible before becoming completely overgrown as nature reclaims the land. I truly hope that the park continues to maintain this as an accessible trail long after the roadway has vanished.

Another wildflower hanging in after most everything else has long gone. Woodland Lettuce I believe, and so far I have only found it along this stretch of trail.

I really like the figure that this tree cuts alongside the roadway. However I believe that it is destined to fall one day and slowly become part of the humus which supports a healthy marsh ecosystem.

The area to the south and east of the roadway is mostly open water and fallen trees. This side however looks much healthier. I do not know if this is due to restoration efforts or maybe the roadway is acting like a dam and causing too much water to backup on the other side?

These bracket fungi have a very pleasing ring pattern with subtle yet lovely yellow and orange hues. I have seen this same species in several locations along this trail. I seem to have a memory for this type of thing, and I am quite sure that I will remember and photograph this same log multiple times through the next year, and one day I will be able to compare photos illustrating how this same fungus’s appearance changes throughout the year. It is this sort of detail which makes repeated visits to the same area so rewarding.

Wow, all the colors of fall here in this one leaf. So perfect and imperfect at the same time.

If it were not for a nearby sign marking this as the beginning of the Beverly Shores trail system, you would not think you were leaving the main Dune Ridge trail. These trails are well maintained and every bit as beautiful as the National Park trails. I really like the contrast between the dark color of the Black Oak trees in this area with the bright and colorful fall foliage. Their trunks and branches lend a sense of structure to the scene.

Thorough out much of the year, bracket fungi like these tend to be very muted in their coloration. But the cooler temps and moisture of Autumn bring out their best. The banding is clearly defined and leading edge is a lovely rust orange. The bands on these fungi are similar to the rings of a tree as they are related to their growth cycle.

Tis the season for Lichen! As with Fungi, Lichens really respond to the changing weather conditions of Autumn. Looking at them close up it is as if they were an entire forest ecosystem in miniature.

Since this land has been reclaimed from residential use and the trails follow old road beds, you sometimes come across trees and flowers which were planted around peoples homes. This little cluster of White Pine trees is one such case. White Pine is not native to this area and they are right at an intersection where a home would have once stood. Even though it is not native, it’s solid blue-green needles provide the perfect compliment to the predominant yellow-orange-red palette.

All along the Beverly Shores trail the forest canopy was solid yellow-gold, given structure by the dark intertwining branches of the Black Oak trees. I choose to photograph this particular patch because I really liked how the branches break up the scene into smaller patches of color, surprisingly similar to the patterns you see when viewing a single leaf up close. The way that nature repeats itself over many different objects and at many different size scales is part of the beauty which draws me to spend so much time outdoors.

In many ways the bright and saturated colors of the leaves are the stars of the show when it comes to the fall colors that draw so many people. While I very much appreciate and enjoy those colors, I find myself drawn to the more subtle, but no less beautiful colorations of the fallen leaves, fungi, lichens and decaying wood which comprise the forest floor. The rich hues and gradations between colors reward more careful and contemplative examination.

While passing through such detail rich areas, so full of plants, vines, bushes, trees, leaves, etc. I have learned to see the scenes around me in terms of planes. Horizontal planes such as the ground beneath my feet or the forest canopy above, and vertical plans such as the one formed by these drooping pine boughs. By photographing them head on, all of the boughs fell into a sharply defined plane which visually separates them from the multitude of other details in the surrounding foliage. Setting my camera lens to a fast aperture created a narrow depth of focus which also helps them to stand out visually.

As I reached the end of the Beverly Shores trail this tree, sporting all the fall colors ranging from green to red, stood as a sentinel at the edge of the marsh which would comprise the third leg of the days hike.