Little Colors

Each fall nature gives a seasonal treat to those of us who live in northeastern North America and around the Great Lakes. That treat comes in the form of the changing colors of the leaves as the days shorten and trees prepare for winter.

The maples, aspens, black gums, tulip-poplars and oaks of our area add their colors to the greens of the conifers to paint the hillsides for a few weeks each fall. Those leaves are down now, almost all faded to a pale yellow or dull brown and their colors gone. But there are other colors to be seen amid the fallen leaves, those are what we’ll call the little colors – the lichens, fruits and fungi that add their colors to the display.

Here’s a sample, beginning with some tiny lichens whose names are self-explanatory: pink earth lichen, lipstick powderhorn and red-fruited pixie cup –

And a neither plant nor animal, but in a class of its own – wolf’s milk slime mold that starts out pink, gradually darkens and winds up dark brown –

Then there are the multitude of fungi which shall remain nameless because there are many fungi I can’t identify with any confidence –

A couple of late-season fruits, partridgeberry and teaberry –

While the trees’ colors are a feast for the eyes, it’s also worthwhile to look down occasionally, bend your knee and enjoy the little colors.