I spent about an hour walking around Odiorne Point this afternoon. The fall leaves are at their absolute best right now (Will. Not. Use. Leafpeeper. Language.) and, although I walk through some parts of Odiorne quite frequently, there are other parts I rarely see, and even more rarely when I have the luxury to stop and take photos.
These herons are starting to look a little drab, but I still love them.
And this small vine has leaves that turn a beautiful scarlet… but isn’t one you want to touch. Poison ivy is (to me) most recognizable in the fall. The color makes the leaves stand out more, at which point their characteristic triplet arrangement and droopy pose call themselves to my attention.
Almost all the fall flowers have gone to seed. I think these little fluffy seedheads are the asters that were blooming everywhere a month ago. I did see one aster in bloom, but it was looking pretty bedraggled.
Most of these clusters of juniper berries had fallen and were scattered below the tree. I don’t know if that’s natural, just the trees way of distributing seeds, or if there was some sort of foul play. Perhaps the chipmunks?
There are some biiig maple trees out in those woods. Most of them were originally decorative plantings, from when this land was private residences.
And of course the sky was that unbelievable October blue color and the sun was shining.
In fact, the sun was shining rather a lot. This salt marsh is the inland portion of Odiorne. Ocean Boulevard (NH 1A) runs between the marsh and the woods along the shore. I’ve seen maps from before the road was built, and the shore portion of Odiorne was almost an island. Now the south end of the marsh is cut off from the water by the road, and the north end is hindered by the bridge over Seavey Creek (the inlet channel). Salt marshes wither up and die without enough tidal flow, but this one seems to be holding up okay.
Check out the rest of the photos. I plan to post some more of them and write a bit about the park’s history, but I need to do some homework first!