Essex Joyspotting #1

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.^*

Autumn is, and has always been, my favourite time of year.  ‘Though many people are saddened by summer’s end, for me, fall was a beginning — a new school year!  I loved school.  During the summer break, I missed my teacher(s) and friends terribly.  I missed my school library.  I missed the athletics.  On that first Tuesday after Labour Day, I was always up early, dressed and anxious to get on my bike, exuberance oozing from every pore.  

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,^*

Now, many decades later, autumn still fills me with joy and sets my blood astir.  I love watching the Monarchs and migrants, especially the hawks, assembling and preparing for their long flights south.  For the first time this year, I’ve loved watching the bees and wasps gather pollen and nectar to sustain the hive over winter.  I love the changing of the leaves and all the vibrant colours.  I love scuffing my feet through the fallen leaves on the trails.  Pure joy, for me.  That’s why yesterday morning, when the weather was so glorious — sunny and 21℃ — it seemed a perfect opportunity to go out shooting with my Joyspotters Guide.

A few years ago, I stumbled across the most interesting “influencer” — Ingrid Fetell Lee — who is also an author and a designer.  A very talented lady.  Her life is all about helping others find joy.   Her website is The Aesthetics of Joy where, should you choose, you may sign up to receive her blog posts.

One of Ms. Lee’s “creations” is “The Joyspotter’s Guide” — twelve subjects to watch for whilst out on walks or hikes — which Ms. Lee describes as, A simple practice of tuning your attention to the joy in your surroundings.  As you will see (if you click on the link) she most generously makes her guide available to one and all at no charge.  When I first read the guide, I thought that each of the twelve prompts were very obvious, but in practice I was completely wrong.  I was surprised how seldom I look down, for instance.  The guide has helped me sharpen my observation skills whilst in nature, and using it makes every outing so much more enjoyable.  

Every year I try to do a series of “Joyspotting” blog posts but this one is my first for 2025.  I hope you enjoy it and I hope that next time you’re out walking in nature, you too might take along a copy of the guide. 

 1 – Look Up
Big Cloud Blue Sky Day

And the weather would be warm, not hot.  Big cloud, blue sky weather.^†
Ever since reading Ms. Giddings’ novel, her Big cloud blue sky weather has become a talisman for me — something good always seems to happen on those days and yesterday was no exception!

2 – Look Down
Future Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia Isabella)

Lots of moth and butterfly larvae are “crossing” rural roads this time of year; please be aware so you don’t run over one.

3 – Keep an Eye Out For Colour

Here in Essex County, the wildflower season is pretty much over, only a few stragglers remain.

4 – Follow the Curve

You just never know what’s right around the bend…

5 – Go Where the Wild Things Are

Unsurprisingly, this is always the easiest one for me:

Meet Perdita And Florizel:

🎵One of these is not like the others.🎵

And, best for last:

Construction Project:  New Beaver Lodge. New since 2nd October!

6 – Seek Out Symmetry
The detritus of Bell Fibe installations:

All I could see was a Cirque du Soleil prop…. Can you see it too?

7 – Search for Signs of Abundance
Soy Bean Crop Harvest

At this time of year, driving down a farm road, odds are you’ll pass a tractor pulling a couple of hoppers full of soybeans. 

8 – Watch for Weirdness

I struggle with weirdness because, truly, not much is to me. Yesterday, any time I was near water (Lake Erie/Hillman Marsh), there were swarms of these Midges.  Hundreds of thousands — no exaggeration, promise!

One time I got out of the car and was immediately covered by 40 or 50 of these nuisances.  I brushed them off my shoulders and they left behind very gross brown smears.  Definitely weirdness!

9 – Zoom In

On a tree that was dynamically red, this lone yellow leaf caught my eye.

10 – Notice the Invisible

At some point during the past fortnight, ERCA has significantly lowered the water level at Hillman Marsh.  The Dowitchers are now able to stand and forage in the middle of the marsh.

11 – Take the Scenic Route

12 – Use All Your Senses

Taken from the observation deck at Wheatley PP.

‘Though completely concealed, within the foliage of this crimson maple were hundreds of Starlings, each one singing its heart out.  Last year, sitting in this same spot, I was fortunate enough to witness their murmuration.  It was gobsmacking and an experience I’ll never forget as long as I live.  No murmuration yesterday, just their beautiful songs. 

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood―
Touch of manner, hint of mood;^*

’Til next time, y’all…

^*Bliss Carman from his poem “A Vagabond Song” — page 247, “More Songs From Vagabondia” from his anthology Bliss Carman: Six Books of Poetry.  Full text below.
^†Megan Giddings — Page 5, Chapter 1 from her novel Lakewood.

A Vagabond Song

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood―
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.