What does the air feel like, what trees still have leaves on them?

Fall is a great time to sink deeply into what is going on around us in the natural world.  Things are slowing down and the piercing cold of winter is not here yet.  Its a great time to start a sit spot practice!

Of course we tend to notice the beautiful colors that the plant nations bless us with, but what else is happening in the web of life?

Here in the northeast, fall is certainly a time of migration and preparing for winter.  The winged nations start migrating toward their winter shelter as early as mid August.  Most birds move away from their breading grounds to a place where they can find protection and food in the winter.  But during the months of August to December, there might be a lot of transitionary places that birds use to bulk up for those harsher winter months. If we cast our eyes upward, we might see birds of prey that are on the move.  While Osprey, Bald Eagles and Kestrels tend to migrating during the warm days of September and October, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks and Golden Eagles do much of their migration in November and December (also check out http://www.hawkmountain.org/raptorpedia/peak-migration/page.aspx?id=348).