Outdoors

TOM VENESKY

August 31, 2008

Summer’s end just another beginning TOM VENESKY OUTDOORS

The hints are subtle, but numerous.

They are signs indicating that summer is quickly fading and cooler temperatures are approaching.

I saw several such signs last week.

The leaves of sassafras trees growing along a rural hedgerow are beginning to transform from lush green to light red and yellow.

The lily pads on one of my favorite bass ponds are drying up and turning brown.

A buck I spied in a forest opening just before dark looked like it had lost its velvet.

For many, the end of summer signals… well, the end. Bitter temperatures, snow, gray skies and icy roads are on the horizon, making winter a season to dread.

But for those of us who enjoy the outdoors – hunting, fishing, hiking, the end of summer is simply a beginning.

Archery season means bucks with polished antlers and swollen necks. Calm evenings in a treestand soaking up the stillness of the woods.

Small game and fall turkey will follow, and then bear season, building up to the peak of the hunting seasons – rifle deer.

Although the start of the fall and winter seasons mean the stout bass poles and boxes of plastic worms, jitterbugs and other lures will be put away, there is still plenty of fishing to do.

October and early November bring some of the best native trout fishing of the year. Mountain streams held captive by the hot summer sun, now flow cool and replenished thanks to the cold autumn nights and shorter days. The native brook trout respond accordingly and feed with more aggression.

And when one is landed, its brilliant colors are a perfect match for the colorful fall leaf canopy.

The ponds that were bass hotspots through July and August transform into duck hunting havens in October. Lily pads recede, the water clears and the aquatic vegetation turns into a hue of purple and red.

Even if the ducks refuse to fly, it’s a pleasure just to spend a fall morning on a mountain pond.

The signature trademark of the outdoors during fall has to be the leaves. The hillsides that stayed a lush green all summer turn a bright array of orange, yellow and red as the hours of daylight dwindle.

Some say the fall colors make the mountains look like they’re on fire.

Others compare it to a rainbow or even a work of art.

They’re all right.

But the colors of fall can also be found where few trees exist.

Farm fields where afternoons were spent hunting woodchucks transform from a thick green to swaths of brown and green as corn ripens in October.

The colors found amongst the trees and fields in fall beckon a trip outside, whether it’s a small game hunt, an evening in the archery stand or just a simple walk.

Later, the fall colors will be replaced by a contrast of gray and white as snow covers the barren landscape, brightening up dull trees that dropped their leaves weeks before.

The white winter landscape means deer season, time to search for animal tracks and late season hunts for rabbits and grouse.

I pondered everything to come as I examined the yellow sassafras leaves, brown lily pads and watched the proud buck with its new set of antlers.

Sure, it’s sad to see summer and everything it had to offer fade away.

But with so much to look forward to, it’s hardly an end.

Tom Venesky writes about hunting, fishing, trapping and the outdoors for The Times Leader. He can be reached at tvenesky@timesleader.com or 829-7230.

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