AUTUMN’S OAK LEAVES cling to branches.
Swatches of green pop in the woods.
Fungi ladder tree trunks.
Brilliant red flashes against weathered grey.
Ponds populated by trilling peepers reflect the changing blue of the sky.
Geese honk territorial warnings best respected.
A camouflaged bird blends into stands of invasive buckthorn.
Dried vegetation proves a visual reminder that spring is not yet fully here in Minnesota.
But tell that to the woman walking barefoot.
Just behind the boys with feet still snugged inside winter boots.
At River Bend Nature Center in Faribault, people hiked and biked and rested on benches and even tracked squirrels in Sunday’s 60-degree temps. (More on the squirrels later.)
If not for the forecast of major snowfall later this week, I might believe these brown woods will soon leaf into a canopy of green.
No one would doubt that on Sunday, an ideal day to delight in the outdoors, to read poetry in the woods.
Spring spread her wings over River Bend on a lovely early April afternoon in southern Minnesota.
© Copyright 2019 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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