Today is Poetry Friday! Our host is Bridget from Wee Words for Wee Ones! She has been celebrating the first anniversary of her poetry book, 10.10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways! Bridget’s posts are always engaging and I love her energy! Be sure to stop by her page for more poetry and a dose of cheerfulness. Bridget and I share October as our birthday month and that we’ve both Wisconsinites (at some point in our lives)! She is one of my favorite writers!
Here in the upper midwest, autumn is in full swing! We’ve even had our first snowfall! Last Friday we got a few inches! It made everything very beautiful! Having guests at our cabin (home) for the weekend, we took them to Timm’s Hill and had to don hats and gloves for the hike through the woods to the lookout tower. It was chilly and slightly slippery but worth it! Our leaves are past peak here, but it is still very beautiful and I love that you can see the birch bark coming through the forest.
Yesterday, we drove from our cabin to Wausau, which is about an hour away. I think I’ve mentioned before that we are much more rural than we’ve been for the last thirty-five years. As we drove, I noticed the Larch trees. These trees, otherwise known as Tamaracks, are deciduous conifers! Yes, you read that correctly! They are coniferous trees (cone-producing) that change color and lose their needles! I wrote my Medium.com blog post about them yesterday. You can learn more about the larch, aka tamarack, by clicking on the medium link.
Today, I noticed even more larch, along the roadside as I drove to get groceries. It prompted me to write a poem about them.
Biking in the Larches A Larch is a tree Few might know, In the fall its yellow needles are all aglow. A conifer losing needles How bizarre you say! But this one is deciduous, Like a Maple losing its leaves to lay, Upon the ground, leaves And needles, alike. From two different trees I see them all on my bike. One last ride, through the Forest, I go. Riding, riding, Until there is snow! © Draft, Carol Labuzzetta, 2022. I have been busy writing daily, as usual. I am posting to my Mediium page each day as well as cross posting to WordPress. In between I've been looking for writing submission and work for hire opportunities. And, NaNoWriMo is coming up. I might truly participate this year as I have an idea for a novel. It might be good just to get a draft done during the month of November. We'll see how I feel about it next week. If I don't go for it, I have some other ideas to work on that will keep me writing, even if the write for hire pitches don't work out. I want to be careful not to overschedule! In any case, I hope you pause this week to see the beauty around you. No matter where you live, I am sure there is beauty to notice, if you just stop long enough to do so. Love the Larches.
The Apples in My Orchard 
Beautiful larches! I am impressed by your productivity, Carol! You are really putting pen to paper, so to speak. Good luck with NaNoWriMo!
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Thanks, Tabatha. I always put a lot on my plate. Somehow it makes me get more done! Although sometimes, I wish I hadn’t. But, I am looking forward to trying to write this draft.
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Aw, Carol, you are a wonder! As is the Larch/Tamarack! Thank you for taking us on “one last ride through the forest”. I miss the WI in October – your pictures are stunning! Happy October birthday! 🙂
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Thanks, Bridget! We have another beautiful day here today – odd weather – but I’ll take it! The snow will fly soon enough!
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“Yellow needles are all aglow!” I had to look for more pics, Carol. Wow, I’ve heard the name but just thought it was another deciduous tree. Love your pictures and the poem ode!
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Thanks, so much Linda! I do think they are a very cool tree. The needles almost look fuzzy when they turn yellow!
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Such beautiful trees and fall color, Carol! Good luck with your novel draft!
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Thanks! I’m starting to get nervous about it! Lol. I have some outlining to do before Tuesday!
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Love this! I was just reading about Larches in OLD GROWTH (from Orion Magazine).
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I’ll have to look that up, Marcie! Thanks!
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Well, how about that?! I did not know about the Larach/Tamarack specialnes…and they are so beautiful. Thank you for the gorgeous photos and the new knowledge. I love the idea of the sweetness of that last ride before snowfall.
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Thanks, Linda! I watch for these trees every fall since I learned about them. So cool!
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Only recently did I learn about larches, and now I see them everywhere around town! How fun to see them in the wild, though…
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Thanks, MaryLee. They are starting to turn brown and fall off now. Such a cool tree! Thanks for stopping by!
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This was a fun stop to learn about the larch tree – and enjoy a little ride to enjoy their beauty. Let’s hope you can get a few more rides in before the snow.
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Thanks, Cathy! We have another beautiful weekend here but the larch are losing their luster – needles will drop soon!
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