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Fall colors can be found on more things than tree leaves

PHOTOS BY GARRY BRANDENBURG — Fall season is upon us. While watching the color change of tree leaves from their familiar greens to yellows, reds, browns and purples, other critters have lots of colors of their own. A Red-headed Woodpecker has a distinct red head, black back and white chest. So distinctive are these vivid colors that mistaken identity for this bird is not likely to happen. Garter Snakes in Iowa have to be one of the most common reptiles one may observe. There are two species in Iowa, the Eastern Garter Snake which has dark brown to greenish background with a creme to yellow mid dorsal stripe plus a lateral line stripe on each side. The Redside Garter Snake can be found mostly in western and central Iowa. It has many bright red barring on its sides above the lateral line. Lastly on today's featured creatures is the Gray treefrog. These tree frogs like to climb high into treetops during the day and descend at night to find other insect morsels to hunt and eat. This fall while you are looking up at tree leaves, take time to look down at other creatures full of their own color schemes.

Nature is amazing. Color will soon descend upon every tree and shrub as chlorophyll production slows and various leaf pigments begin to dominate.

Those leaves have conducted their tasks all spring and summer to manufacture sugars for the host plant. With that task completed for another year, Mother Nature is turning off the green pigments and revving up a whole new pallet of colors.

These vivid and remarkable reds, browns, purples, yellows and all shades in between will soon dominate. The magic of these colors pleases our human eye and allows our photographic hardware, i.e. cameras and cell phone optics, to capture brilliant light values. Add streaming rays of sunlight through this kaleidoscope of leaves to add special effects for fleeting moments.

Special attention must be paid to early morning warm sunlight filtering through tree canopies to make striking displays of Mother Nature’s landscapes. Every fall we humans marvel at tree leaf color displays, and hunters sitting quietly at the base of an oak tree awaiting the wake up of squirrels find the beauty of a forested setting to be a huge ingredient to remember those special times. Archers sitting peacefully in a tree stand or ground blind also marvel at the transformation of each new day when the sun finally rises just enough to begin spreading its light rays across and through the forest.

Nighttime critters like raccoons may want to find a den tree to sleep away the day after a night of hunting. Other night shift animals may take a nap or just change tactics with each new day. White-tailed deer are feeling the effects of shorter days and longer nights. Hormone production in both males and females is changing how these mammals behave. The breeding season, or rut, will slowly take center stage during the last week of October and the first two weeks of November.

Bucks in bachelors groups that did tolerate each other earlier in the year will break up later this month, in a free for all competition for receptive does. Polished antlers will display status and dominance.

Intimidation between bucks may usually end before any head to head battles as they side-step each other in a body language display of who is the strongest. The lesser buck will get the message and avoid a fight. However, there may be dominance fights and locked antlers episodes take place in contests that can become very intense.

One of my most comical deer observation situations took place many years ago as I sat quietly in my ladder stand in the forest. Adult deer moved lazily back and forth to a watering hole.

Two young of the year button bucks frolicked not too far from my stand. They chased each other like puppy dogs romping in the backyard. Soon they tired of the chase and faced off.

Each little male deer with only tiny antler buds/buttons put their heads down and pushed against each other as if they were the big boys of the forest. They were no doubt practicing for next year, or the year after, when larger antler sets would be much larger and their attitudes also more intense.

Their instincts to fight were already on full display and in action. This show of force lasted for at least 15 minutes until some silent signal told each that the fight was over. I smiled at the stage show they allowed me to witness.

This author’s 58 years of archery deer hunting have proven time and time again how special each and every hunting foray is. The quietness of the forest or forest /grassland edges is not exactly noiseless.

Wild critters make their sounds, chirps, calls and grunts. Each call has meaning within the species.

Wind makes nice noises to add to the mix. Honking Canada geese add flavor from the sky. A cackling rooster pheasant can be heard as it flies low over a grassland. Crows talk to each other in a raucous way to let every other crow know what is going on.

Pileated Woodpeckers noisily announce themselves to all other birds, or other Pileateds, and the call of Bald Eagles will always be close by, especially near any Iowa River setting. Nature’s melodies are like a multi-station radio station playing oldies and goodies in a constant replay.

Nature also offers the sounds of silence. Delicate footfalls of a deer walking can be imperceptible, so stealthy that their approach can only be seen, not heard. Deer eyes and deer ears are in constant motion as they survey the landscape all around them.

Moist noses are gathering data in the air currents on what is normal and what is a new smell in the area. Scents can spell an all is well situation or potential danger in the vicinity.

All of these observations are part of the sounds of silence, nature in its hush mode. It is a pleasure to be allowed into Mother Nature’s landscapes to experience all she has to offer. Hunting can and does make these special moments and special memories very real. I like it.

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Fall tree leaf colors will be peaking in northern Iowa this week. By mid month, central Iowa will get its chance to dominate, and by the end of month, southern Iowa trees will put on their magic display.

Iowa has many special state parks and lots of county parks where if one is so inclined, a day trip or overnight exploration along the backroads will get you up close and personal to many beautiful colors.

If you are so inclined to help plant new trees, several hundred new trees will be planted by a host of volunteers on Oct. 21 at Green Castle. The new RV campground area is where these trees will be placed in the ground.

A big variety of tree species is in the mix to allow, in time, shade for camper slots, and color to please the eye. Call the Marshall County Conservation office at Grimes Farm to add your name to the list of volunteer planters. The phone number is 641-752-5490.

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I’ll finish up this weekend edition with a few fun things to think about. It has to do with logic, and good or not so good premises.

In science, it is a basic tenet to propose a proposition or assumption about some natural phenomenon, then gather observations and data to test the hypothesis. The data and observations may seem to hold that the hypothesis is true — until others check your work, your methods, and your conclusions. The results can help verify some of the conclusions, or even better, allow for a resetting of the project to be more refined.

Sometimes it becomes apparent that the original hypothesis was way off. That means it is time to start over. The search for truth demands rigorous testing and retesting until solid evidence points in the correct direction.

Albert Einstein was a noted physicist. His calculations and observations of space and time were way ahead of his colleagues. He sought the truth to help define the earth and its solar setting into a well understood cosmic interplay of gravity and time.

His deep thinking was a marvel, and when asked if he thought it a big deal that many other scientists agreed with him, he also recognized the importance of others who dared to say “Mr. Einstein, I think you overlooked a critical factor or two that defies the explanations you have submitted.” Rather than offer a hostile reply, it caused Albert to stop and examine his own logic, to see if he indeed did overlook something, to look at his calculations and assumptions and be vigorously open to a new approach.

Science and the search for the truth is best when that type of testing takes place. So just consider this little example.

If one says “all birds can fly, and penguins can’t fly, so therefore penguins aren’t birds.” The premise was false to begin with, and therefore makes the argument logically untrue.

You may already have some clarifications in mind for this scenario, such as: many or most birds can fly in the air, but if you put penguins in the ocean and film them chasing fish, you will see that penguins do “fly” quite well underwater.

Penguins cannot fly in the air is a true statement. It takes a refined statement or new premise to be scientifically valid.

There are birds without wings and some birds with rudimentary wing stubs that make flying in air impossible. There are some fish in the ocean with elongated pectoral fins that act as wings to allow this fish to “glide” above water for brief amounts of time.

Flying squirrels have loose skin between their limbs that allows the mammal to “glide from a tall tree to another tree at lower altitude.” Does this mammal actually meet the definition of flight? Gliding is a form of flight.

A carefully written premise allows for the exemptions nature provides. In past episodes of Cretaceous geological time frames, there were flying reptiles of great sizes. They were fully capable of true flight as their outstretched long arm bones had thin skin membranes acting like wings and allowing true flight.

Skeletal examples that these creatures once did exist is fact. Their bones are on display in many natural history museums where today we can say without doubt that these reptiles did fly. And if you say “mammals cannot fly, therefore bats must be birds,” then you have started off with an incorrect premise. We do know that bats are mammals, have hair, nurse their young with milk, and have wings made up of long arm bones and a thin membrane of skin tissue to act as an airfoil.

Nature is full of wonder and surprises in this complex world. Investigating and learning more is an exciting thing to do. Let the search for truth be never ending.

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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology. Contact him at: P.O. Box 96, Albion, IA 50005

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