Autumn 2025
By John W. Garbutt- Class of 2019
It was the day before the autumnal equinox, and I noticed the Barn Swallows were gone from around my home. Perhaps it was oversight and they had been gone for a couple of weeks. Regardless of the exact timing of their departure, when the harbinger of spring departs, autumn is near.
That morning, looking outside after the overnight storms, a migrating Wilson’s Warbler moved through the trees as it searched for sustenance to fuel its southward journey as it awaited fairer night skies. Below, the goldenrod’s bright yellow stood out against surrounding browns.
Overall, autumn started cool as I visited the Wichita Mountains, but the temperature quickly warmed. October began with the forecast stating “near record warmth” every day. The constant switching between “false fall” and “second summer” had me longing for the day when the fan that could not keep up during the hot summer; suddenly creates a chill overhead and has to be slowed or shut off.
The long awaited “true fall front” was forecast for the final week of October. On the afternoon of the 28th due to the change in weather, I noted that autumn had arrived and hoped it was here to stay. This is a month I love to look above for flocks of cormorants, gulls, pelicans, and other waterfowl as they arrive from northern waters using the tailwind to push them south to find warmer and open water.
After Day Light Savings ended, I had a sensation, perhaps amplified due to the early darkness, that the landscape and air looked and felt like autumn should. With the sun rising lower in the horizon each day, the golden soft light seems to last from sunrise to sunset. However, these comforting autumnal feelings were briefly interrupted mid-way through November when it broke 80 degrees. The autumn color was peaking, the wintering Dark-eyed Juncos were speaking, but the warm damp air permeated a spring like feeling through the autumn-colored surroundings.
The following morning, the air was cooler, and it was foggy as we headed to Hagerman. The mist hovered over the rolled hay and hills as early rays of soft light fought to shine through the bare branches which were shrouded in the heavy air. Turning onto Refuge Road, it was if driving through a painting called Autumn Road. Browns, yellows, and oranges shown in patches as the remaining leaves held on desperately against the wind. The aquatic foliage along Lake Texoma dotted the landscape with reds, greens, and yellows. The geese swirled through the fog. On the radio, the Bleachers and Bruce Springsteen sung “Because I wanna find tomorrow, Yeah, I wanna find tomorrow, With a girl like you.”
Taking in the beauty and standing with Jess along the road, that today I found with her, was my favorite thing from the autumn of 2025.
These are the rest.
9/23/25- My favorite tree/spot at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.
9/23/25- The morning light breaking through after the overnight storms. Wichita Mountains NWR.
9/23/25- I love the sunrise along my favorite trail in the Wichita Mountains.
9/24/25- American Bison at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.
10/5/25- Gulf Fritillary at Frisco Commons. One of my favorite butterflies to see.
10/5/25- I have always liked how the bright yellow of goldenrod stands out in late September through early October as the landscape turns brown. At Frisco Commons.
11/3/25- Eastern Phoebe with some autumn color at Russell Creek Park in Plano.
11/16/25- Snow, Ross’s, and Greater White-fronted Geese at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.
11/16/25- I have always been partial to the White-throated Sparrow which adorns my Sparrow Appreciation Society knit-cap. This one was at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.
11/16/25- I do not believe I have seen this type of skipper before despite the Common Checkered-Skipper being the “most common and widespread skipper in North America” according to my Peterson field guide. Photographed at the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge butterfly garden.