WEEKS AGO, Autumn whispered in the woods of Mission Park in the Brainerd lakes area. I expect, though, if I traveled Up North today, Autumn will have mostly exited. The same is happening here in southern Minnesota, the voice of this season diminishing, yielding to Winter.
But on that late September morning in Mission Township near Merrifield, only a few deciduous trees among the endless conifers were tipped in hues of orange, yellow and red.
Following paved, dirt and grass trails into the woods, I also noticed an abundance of mushrooms. Fungi fascinate me. Those found here differ from mushrooms I’ve seen in my region of the state.
As someone who likes to eat mushrooms, I wish I could identify wild ones as edible or not. Interestingly enough, Faribault-based Forest to Fork grows mushrooms inside a former canning company complex in my community, far from the forests of northern Minnesota. I really need to try these locally-grown mushrooms found in grocery stores, restaurants, co-ops and more in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
The mushrooms of Mission Park drew me close to admire their ridged edges, their shapes, sizes and hues. They seem magical without being magical in the psychedelic sense.
This park offers its own bit of magic in the form of dozens of gnome statues hidden in the woods. I’ve always liked treasure hunts so searching for the mythical creatures adds an interesting element to hiking and photographing here.
The gnomes are usually sitting out of reach in trees, most high enough to protect them from mischievous park visitors who want to have a little fun and move them. That would probably require a ladder or climbing a tree. A few, though, are within easy reach on tree stumps and spots lower.
And, yes, some gnomes have been relocated despite the posted warning: “Leave the gnomes be or bad luck will follow thee.” None of us needs bad luck. I’m not willing to take the risk.
Rather, I enjoy the hunt, the photography, the beautiful natural world that surrounds me whenever or wherever I hike. A feather. A leaf shadowed on a tree trunk. A woolly caterpillar in danger on the paved trail.
Autumn beckoned, first whispering, then shouting in colorful language that calls all of us to slow down, look around and fully see the beauty before us.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Recent Comments