Autumn in SteveLand

I don't actually have my own "land". I live in the Southeastern United States in a place where the soil is sandy and the forests are mostly pine trees. In that photo on the right above you can see where some enterprising soul has raked and baled some pinestraw for use as landscaping material.

The bright colors below don't arrive until October and November. September is still a hot green month, but there is a slight chill in the air at night that lets you know autumn is coming. That's a Yucca on the right, a plant with tough leaves like swords! Nothing munches on THAT plant! But it turns out that the roots are good to eat when baked. Survival food!



In September the wild grapes become ripe. My walks in the woods are catered by nature with fresh fruit snacks plucked from the trees. In the middle below is the persimmon, a very sweet fruit that tastes like jam or preserves, but it is so soft that when it falls on the ground it splits open. You might say, "Well why don't you just pick them from the tree?" Unfortunately, before it becomes ripe the persimmon contains an alum-like chemical that will pucker your lips and turn your mouth inside out! It's a tasty fruit, but a difficult fruit.



Don't eat the mushrooms! That beautiful orange one is the deadly amanita muscaria and is very common in the pine forest. Is that why Halloween uses orange as it's signature color? If you eat one, then you will end up in the place pictured below and have to celebrate your Halloween by floating around saying, "Booooo".