Autumn on Snake Hill.
Elevation makes a huge difference in the Central Appalachians. Canaan Valley was at peak color almost two weeks ago. A thousand feet lower, at Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area, the leaves are just starting to approach peak. From top: red maple leaves drape fan clubmoss; the white-glazed, blue-purple berries of common greenbrier, an important food source for wildlife in the fall and winter; oldfield aster, also known as frost aster; milkweed pods release their precious seed; goldenrod gone to seed; the blue-black berries of mapleleaf viburnum, whose blushing red leaves are one of autumn's great joys; the brilliant yellow foliage of wild yam; the fiery red bolts of sourwood's dying flame; red oak burning away at the trail's edge; eastern teaberry loaded up with its distinctive red berries; a gorgeous Maryland golden-aster, one of the last beauties standing before the frost; and a spotted cucumber beetle, which despite its innocent appearance is a bane of late season gardens.
