The Peebles Island forest in late November

This is what the forest at Peebles Island looks like at this time of year.

Because the leaves have fallen, you can see farther through the forest. You can see the water. You can see where the paths leads. In many of the treetops, you can see clusters of leaves or twigs. These must be nests created by animals such as birds or squirrels.

Back in July, I usually saw deer when I went to Peebles Island.  Now I have not seen any deer for some time.

The forest floor is covered with oak leaves.

There are oak trees in this forest, but there are also other trees. Why do the leaves on the forest floor seem so predominantly oak? I looked closer, and I saw that there are also other leaves that are all shriveled up. I think the oak leaves are more noticeable than the leaves of other trees, because the oak leaves are not shriveled up.

There's an area in the forest where there's a lot of grass beside the trail.  Why is it grassy? Usually places don't stay grassy unless they are mowed regularly.  Do they come out to the middle of the woods and mow this place? Was there grass planted here in the past, when the island was more cultivated, and now it just stays grassy without any intervention?