Pleasures of Smoky Gold

A "Smoky gold" morning at Independence Oaks County Park - North
photos by Jonathan Schechter

To hike to the edge of a swampland at sunrise or sunset in the early days of November is an
adventure in pure pleasure, a sensual delight for the senses of sight, smell and touch. There is
no better time than now to explore the world of the tamarack, a deciduous coniferous tree that
looses all  her clustered soft needle-like leaves before this month ends.  Walk silently near the 
now golden tamarack and  you discover why the term 'smoky gold' was coined by Aldo Leopold
in  his classic work, Sand County Almanac.   
It's a perfect description of the result of a  near magical transformation from their summer mantle
 of soft emerald green to their smoky gold hue that signals the waning days  of autumn. Wait 
 two weeks to walk and every one of their needle-like leaves will carpet the the woodlands or float
on quiet waters leaving only the tiny cones as a reminder that spring will return.
Although these images were all captured at Independence Oaks County Park on November
7th, tamarack trees can be found in many colder parts of the northern hemisphere. In northern
Oakland County they are most common around small glacially sculpted  kettle lakes, bogs, marshes
 and undeveloped wetlands.