While my work at the Ausable River Association is full of big picture thinking to support the work of restoring resilient rivers, protecting native wildlife, and ensuring clean waters, the simplicity of walking in the woods or along the bank of a stream has always given me balance.

The rain might have put a damper on my plans, but it showed me a different way to explore. I made a routine out of walking a wooded path close to my home-with the added benefit of a quick escape in the case of a sudden downpour. The woods were familiar, but I shifted my expectations and my perspective changed in the process. I noticed the little things: the first signs of ghost pipe emerging from under leaf litter, the shift in the cast of birds singing from the trees, just how many mushrooms were fruiting, the number of slugs camouflaged on the forest floor (and eating the mushrooms), chipmunk tracks in the mud, and how quickly branches began to grow and extend into the pruned trail.

I was hooked. The smaller the subject of my observation, the better. I walked the same path, often several times each day, photographing as I went.

I realized I was able to capture mushrooms grow over the course of 36 hours. I noticed just how many different mushrooms and mosses there were. I looked at the trail, covered in leaf litter, and realized there was so much more to it than that: orange peel fungus, dead man’s fingers, black trumpets, smoky spindles, jelly babies, scaly vase chanterelles and so much more.

It was such a refreshing reminder of how special the Adirondacks are, regardless of the weather. Now that the leaves are beginning to fall and the air sweetens with the smell of their decay, I’m trying to hold onto this perspective. I’ve been looking more closely at tree bark, listening to the red squirrels dislodge pinecones from the branches of white pines, and watching the varying blanket of leaves on the trail change color. I’m noticing the lichen and mosses seem to stand out so much more clearly against the fading colors of summer. My new perspective gave me the chance to realize a tree I have walked by countless times and dismissed as “just another maple” is actually a shagbark hickory tree and its nuts almost resemble little green pumpkins.

Have you been noticing the mushrooms or the brilliant colors of mosses against gray skies and brown leaves? Summer sun can be a lot of fun, but rain and the changing seasons can be a great excuse to slow down and really look at what surrounds us.

But if you haven’t had the chance to pause and examine trees or mosses, don’t worry. The Ausable River Association’s guided tours are a great opportunity to learn more about the species that surround us, even the ones we might not otherwise notice. Our knowledgeable guest naturalists invite participants to look more closely and connect. While our mushroom walk might be over, we have plenty of great tours still to come, including a birding walk, fall nature tour, moss exploration and winter tree identification. All our tours are free to attend, but space is limited and signing up is required.

So, if you’ve missed out on spending a day getting to know the birds or mosses, or just want to get together with a group of people as interested as you are, join us for a tour.

Visit the events page on our website to learn more: www.ausableriver.org/events/river-tours.

(Madison Stroud is the operations director at the Ausable River Association, based in Wilmington.)