Well, we had a beautiful autumn. We got a lot of chances to go for long rides and enjoy the colors. The ride from here to Munising along H13 was glorious, as was the day spent in Door County. One day a friend and I drove to Iron Mountain via Highway 577 and returned along the back roads on the Wisconsin side, ending up in Crivitz for a chicken supper at Schaefer's; a beautiful day all around.

If you plan your day trips in the right direction, you can stretch the "peak" season out for almost a whole month. If gas prices kept you closer to home, don't be discouraged. If you were lucky enough to drive from the Pine Tree Mall on T over to the Golden Sands Amoco Station, you saw about as beautiful as was available any where in the area. That stretch is pretty all year long. Even later in the season when the brilliant colors give way to the rusts of the Oaks and the yellows of the Tamaracks with the evergreens adding their deep greens for contrast, the effect is still worth the drive. I hope everyone had a chance to get out and enjoy.

In contrast, I had to make an unscheduled trip to Marquette last weekend and I was too busy trying to stay on the road to notice the scenery. I ran into ice and slush on Highway 41 between Rapid River and Marquette. The wind was fierce, making my car bump and buck as well as slip and slide. I did keep it on the road long enough to get some breath taking views of Lake Superior at its furious best with enormous combers sweeping in angry rows that sent white spray high into the slate gray sky. What a sight! The weather got so snowy and blustery that I opted for an overnight in Marquette instead of trying the trip home. I got up as early as I could on Saturday so I could get home to weekend obligations. The roads that were so icy the day before were improved enough that I could enjoy the scenery a little more. The blizzard conditions were gone, but the moisture was still around leaving the bare trees and underbrush coated in a crystal coating of ice.

We are so lucky to live in this part of the country where we can enjoy four distinct seasons. You need not fear looking out the window and not being able to tell what season we're in. There's seldom much room for doubt! What ever the weather or the season, there will always be a really beautiful stretch of road out there just waiting for us to enjoy. Please have a safe and happy winter. Find a hobby that will keep the cabin fever at bay and an activity that will give you an excuse to get out and enjoy some of our more clement winter days.

Wilder than a walkathon- counting birds, having fun, and saving the planet! Can't tell a swan from a swallow? We can teach you, or simply sign you up as a sponsor. It's that easy. To learn more, contact us at 1-800-647-BIRD or Visit the Birdathon website.

Chappee Rapids Audubon is on the Web! Ray Williams, a Chappee Rapids Audubon member, has generously volunteered to serve as webmaster. A preliminary version of the site can be viewed at www.chappeerapidsaudubonsociety.org.

As one of the owners of Cyberzone, Williams is well qualified to serve in this capacity. His programming and design skills are evidenced by the speed with which the site loads and the attractive layout.

Presently, the site provides information from the membership brochure and newsletter. Useful links are also available. Plans for the site include a newsletter archive, tips on birding and wildlife observation, detailed information on the Chappee-Weber Learning Center and the Harmony Hardwoods and more.

An exciting feature, which should benefit our community, is a directory of local areas where wildlife can be viewed. Visitors to our area or local residents could log on the web site to find out where and when to view wildlife. The November meeting will include a time slot for input by members. We need information about and pictures of any of these areas. It is our hope that raising awareness of natural areas will increase the value placed upon them by local residents.

We are fortunate to have this resource available. Attend the November meeting for more information and to help us improve the site with your ideas and input.

If you're determined to spot some Leonids this year, here is the best strategy: Dress warmly and travel (if necessary) to a dark-sky site away from urban light pollution. Be prepared to watch the sky between midnight and sunrise on Sunday morning, Nov. 18th. Meteor rates will probably be low near midnight -- although that is a good time to see beautiful Earthgrazing Leonids -- then climb to 10 or 20 per hour by dawn. If you're lucky you might witness a storm-level outburst and count thousands of shooting star

The Fox River, Green Bay, and Lake Michigan are severely contaminated by toxic PCB chemical contamination. Please visit www.foxriverwatch.comto get details on the problem. The government has allowed the PCBs to linger and spread for more than 30 years since discovering them. Millions of people have been poisoned (through food, air, water, and skin exposure), and we are STILL being poisoned because of government and corporate inaction.

Even though the vast majority of the PCBs come from the effluence of the Fox River and is contained in the lower portions of Green Bay a lot of it has made its way up through the rest of the Bay System and even into Lake Michigan. This is a problem in our area as well! We need to make the people in the Marinette - Menominee area aware of the problem and instill the need to act. Please write, email, or call your State Representatives and the DNR to express your concerns.

Within the last year it seems every time I sit down to write this column the weather is lagging by at least a season. Today was as balmy as early November can possibly be! As the temperatures merely return to normal it will be difficult not to long for "just one more" like we have had this week! Like as not there will be a few inches of the fluffy white stuff as you read this.

This Autumn has been slow and patient in the natural world. Leaves did not turn to their brilliant hues till almost the middle of October, then came off quickly in one Arctic blast. Tamaracks were especially brilliant and peaked just before the end of the month. New England asters are still clinging to their purple hues and viburnums and hollies are decked out in their crimson berries. Wild food crops appeared to be average in September, however heavy feeding pressure has reduced the berries and nuts to below normal levels in my opinion. Blue Jays and flickers were the first marauders followed by the bluebirds, thrushes, and now fair numbers of northern robins are in our area.

I did not see the large waterfowl movements that I look forward to each year. At first I was a bit disturbed, but then I heard that just west of the Mississippi there were huge numbers of geese and other waterfowl so I presume they just shifted their route this year. Many of the songbird numbers were quite low also and I hope that this too was only a regional phenomenon. Most memorable siting for me was of two large flocks of Sandhills on November 1st, each of about 100 birds. There was a stiff NW wind in the late afternoon and not a cloud in the sky. The birds were flying high, a couple thousand feet at least. They called to each other at some distance for 10 or 15 minutes. Then, as they met, they started to swirl into a circle about one another, then mingling, and finally forming a continuous ring. After a few more minutes of circling they broke out into several small linear flocks then forming V's then amassing into the familiar formation and heading southwest as they climbed out of site. I probably will not see them again till March.

Raptors have been in average numbers. Marsh hawks and rough legs are both present at this time. Last weekend I had the "adventure?" of chasing a young marsh hawk off the top of my favorite hen. If I had to choose, the marsh would be my favorite raptor....now as I stood only six feet away from the bird a fraction of my weight , yet at eye level, each of us scolding the other and laying claim to the prey. My fist was shaking and the hawk was hissing and flaring wings, needless to say I had the best look at one of these birds I have ever had in my life and they are truly awesome! Glad I'm not a chicken!

With the events of September the world seems to be a less certain place on which to live. The natural world is still my respite from all of this. Not that nature is constant, or sure, but always there and changing. For at least 15 years snow buntings came to the airport about October 20th, but not this year. That does not mean I will never see them again, or even that I will not see them yet this season. I will see different things, like the most remarkable aurora borealis last evening with the deepest reds I have ever seen. Or the small greenish bird that greeted me on my deck for almost a minute yesterday- sent my heart pounding and my hands fumbling for bird book. It was certainly not a bird I had ever seen before. I spent a half an hour reading descriptions of Western tanagers, summer tanagers, orioles in winter etc...So, what was it? I don't know, and I may never know but I am so thankful for the excitement of reminding me there are always new things to learn and discover and that's what makes life worthwhile. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!