Walking with Nature: The Gateway Wetlands in September

Gold is the dominant color around the Gateway Wetlands during September. Goldenrod lines the paths. Sunrise and sunset turn the reeds a golden-brown. Flowers from the aster family--some yellow, and some gold surrounded by white petals—grace the scene, along with St. John’s Wort and primroses. And above the heads of joggers, children on their bicycles, and adults walking dogs, tree leaves are beginning to turn to gold. September is a wonderful month for walking the wetlands.

In the early morning, geese often convene on the large pond. Early one morning I watched what appeared to be a hundred or more geese, spread around like break-out groups at a conference. There was a fair amount of verbal communication between geese, but it was not loud or raucous. Occasionally several geese would take off. Some apparently scouted nearby areas and returned with their reports. Two egrets shared the pond. They looked like guards standing sentinel for the geese, but were doubtless patiently awaiting the arrival of their breakfast of fresh fish. Along the shore behind the birds, the reflection of the lower part of the reeds shimmered golden in the slanted light.

In September, other life forms—from herons to grasshoppers and bees, from a hawk high in a tree to bees and a few dragonflies—also animate the Wetlands. Most of the red-winged blackbirds are gone, though I still saw a few in September. In mid-September goldfinches were plentiful, but if those sources of gold are still present in the Wetlands at the end of the month, they escaped my view.

The poet Robert Frost wrote that the golden hue of leaves in early spring makes them look like blossoms, but their color deepens into green as summer comes. In the original version of his poem, Frost ended, “In autumn she achieves / A still more golden blaze / But nothing golden stays.”*

If you are a nature lover, hurry over to the Gateway Wetlands** while you can still see that “golden blaze.” Already some goldenrod is fading, even as trees are turning red or gold. But as Frost put it more poetically in the final version of his poem, “Nothing gold can stay.” Enjoy the glorious color while you can!

**You can access the wetlands from several places, including a parking lot on Anna, west off of Janes, just north of the Promenade.

© Wilda Morris