This past Saturday, Jane and I took a walk at sunrise in the southern tract of the Patuxent Research Refuge. The northern pintails and mallards were drifting across the lake in full force as we did a lap through the floodplain forests, the mid-autumn morning light glowing through the treetops. After our walk, we stopped by the National Wildlife Visitor Center, where a holiday gift bazaar was taking place. I bought a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle and a loaf of cranberry-orange bread; Jane picked up a calendar from a local wildlife photographer. We took a stroll through the visitor center's under-appreciated exhibits on wildlife habitats across the country. Near the end were some of the most beautiful displays of taxidermy I have ever seen - life-sized dioramas of a grey wolf pack in the midst of a winter hunt; harbor seals diving through coastal waters; a flock of great albatrosses descending in mid-air. We spent the rest of the morning at a used-bookstore in Columbia before grabbing Vietnamese food for lunch.
Above and below, a few forest scenes from our morning walk. This is how mid-autumn looks in the state of Maryland.
