9/11/24 – Every fall I am awoken at 5am to the sound of gunshots. I think to myself, who on earth is out sighting in their guns this early? Grouse season isn’t even open yet? That’s when I remember – that’s no gunshot, it’s the resident red squirrels stocking up for winter. The sound of a green pine cone hitting an aluminum canoe or metal roof after being dropped from the tallest white pines is my annual fall alarm clock. The impact sends sap flying in all directions, often landing on the stacks of canoes waiting to be rented, so we keep bottles of liquid hand sanitizer at the ready for cleaning off our clothes and hands.

In addition to pine cones, the squirrels start stashing mushrooms in earnest this time of year. One enterprising young squirrel chose the stack of B19’s as a likely cache location this morning. I’m sorry to say that these canoes aren’t going to stay put in that place all winter so squirrely is going to have to move this particular stash. Watching this frenetic gathering has me fondly anticipating winter and reflecting on years past. A few winters ago, we selected a lovely little balsam as a potential Christmas tree. As we inspected it more closely, and just before we cut it down, we noticed a shriveled mushroom tucked into one of its branches. Further investigation revealed a dozen or more mushrooms scattered throughout the tree. Needless to say, we selected a different Christmas tree.

Despite what the squirrels say, with the beautiful fall weather we aren’t quite ready to begin our winter preparations just yet. We’re still in full swing here, and won’t shut down for winter completely until October 20th. The fall colors are looking to be a bit on the early side this year so if you’re hoping to catch some good color along with good weather the next week or two are your best bet.

-Clare