Below us, the rugged hills of the Ohio Brush Creek valley are resplendent in shades of russet, burnt orange, green and yellow. Monarch butterflies flutter across the landscape in their annual migration. I've come here in search of autumn. Autumn is orchard apples, haunted houses, Friday night football, farmers' markets and festivals. It's all that, but that's not the autumn I'm seeking this October day.
Autumn is nature's time to prepare for the approaching winter.
Maybe it's also the unspoken promise that springtime will someday return. E. Lucy Braun Lynx Prairie Preserve features a series of natural grassland openings in an otherwise forested area. Prairie blooms peak late July through September. Go half a mile and turn left into the parking lot of East Liberty Church. The trail starts at the eastern edge of the church cemetery.