Students and visitors to Upham Woods in the fall are in continuous motion, and the trees on Blackhawk Island and around Upham are also in continuous change. Insects that are able to survive the winter are frantically crawling and climbing, gathering and eating everything they can. Yellow, oranges and reds color the tree line above Upham Woods as the trees switch off leaf production for the year, dropping the dead brown ones to crunch under our feet or float slowly down the Wisconsin River.

Recently, climbing the stairs to Peanut Butter Mountain, one excited student ran up, eagerly asking, “Is this why it is called Peanut Butter Mountain?” She was entranced by the dry dead pine needles under our feet, their smooth light brown color so closely resembling peanut butter. Deciduous trees dropping their leaves is a familiar phenomenon, but the dropping of dead pine needles is also a sure sign of fall. As a blanket of colorful dead leaves and peanut butter pine needles descend on Upham Woods, it allows us time to take a breath during a busy fall season.