Bumper crop of nuts falling out there – hickory, black walnut, acorns.

While Nature puts on an incredible show of colors overhead and at every turn, here are some other quite amazing events to check out:

What started out as a display of pumpkins at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular has evolved into a regional event that sometimes involves standing in line to get in. On through Nov. 1, this nighttime display of some 5,000 illuminated jack-o-lanterns displayed along a winding trail features some exceptional pumpkins carved into perishable works of art.

The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular is open rain or shine, but may close or end early if severe weather impacts safety. (Check the zoo website, Facebook or Twitter pages for updates.) Admission starts at 6 p.m.; the pumpkin trail opens at dusk. Tip: Purchase tickets online and bypass the wait. Monday through Thursday nights: $14; $12 seniors (62+); $11, children ages 3 to 12. Friday through Sunday, $16; $14, seniors; $13, children. Ages 2 and younger, free.

From the official site: “There are about 5,000 pumpkins on display at any one time, all lit with LED lights.

“Who carves the pumpkins? The Spectacular was founded in 1988 by John Reckner, formerly an Oxford, Massachusetts mail carrier. Mr. Reckner, his family and friends continue to produce the show which first came to RWP Zoo in 2001 and returned to the Zoo in 2009 after a 4-year hiatus. This team of professional pumpkin carvers, called Passion for Pumpkins, spends 6 – 8 weeks creating the magical display set on the Zoo’s Wetlands Trail amid special lighting and themed music.”

After seeing working livestock at recent fairs and festivals, for anyone who ever wondered what a Devon looks like, here is a picturesque description.

“The cow standing erect was of the Devon breed, and was encased in a tight warm hide of rich Indian red, as absolutely uniform from eyes to tail as if the animal had been dipped in a dye of that colour, her long back being mathematically level. The other was spotted, grey and white. Beside her Oak now noticed a little calf about a day old, looking idiotically at the two women, which showed that it had not long been accustomed to the phenomenon of eyesight, and often turning to the lantern, which it apparently mistook for the moon, inherited instinct having as yet had little time for correction by experience. – Far From Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

For additional information, see beautiful pictures of other heritage breeds at The Livestock Conservancy, which “ensures the future of agriculture through the genetic conservation and promotion of endangered breeds of livestock and poultry.”

As extinct means forever (at least for now), time travel is possible back to when a herd of wooly mammoths roamed the continent … and the site where an accidental discovery found the preserved remains of some of those animals is now preserved as a new national monument.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Former First Lady Laura Bush recently joined community members to celebrate the President Obamas’s designation of the Waco Mammoth National Monument as one of the nation’s newest national monuments, permanently protecting the site where the extremely well-preserved fossils of a herd of Columbian Mammoths and other Ice Age animals have been found.

The oldest fossils identified at the site are thought to be more than 65,000 years old.

The site remains the nation's first and only recorded discovery of a nursery herd, including females and their offspring, of mammoths from the Ice Age, an era defined as 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. Of the 24 mammoths uncovered to date, at least 18 were part of the nursery herd. As a result of an unknown natural catastrophic event, the entire nursery herd died at the same moment in time, which left the skeletons relatively intact. The site offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to examine the matriarchal herd structure and behavior of this extinct species.

The site is now managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with the City of Waco and Baylor University.

The treasure trove was discovered in 1978, when Waco residents Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin were looking for arrowheads and fossils along the Bosque River and found a large bone protruding from the earth. Realizing the possible significance of this discovery, Mr. Barron and Mr. Bufkin immediately took the bone to the Strecker Museum at Baylor University where it was identified as the upper leg bone of a Columbian Mammoth.

Over the next 20 years, Baylor University oversaw the excavation of the site, where they found the remains of 24 Columbian Mammoths, including adults and juveniles, as well as a western camel, saber-toothed cat, dwarf antelope, American alligator, and giant tortoise. The Columbian Mammoths are the largest mammoth species – larger than its relative, the Woolly mammoth – and stood 12 to 14 feet tall and weighed seven to eight tons. Many of the discovered bones, including the remains of four Columbian Mammoths, as well as the skeleton of the camel, remain in place, providing visitors an opportunity to view them.

– This Week at Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior

Mammoths at the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven? Yes. Halloween bash? Also yes.

The annual Haunted Hall Crawl and Costume Ball is on for Thursday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m. Pre-registration and fee required (age 18 and over only); no tickets at the door. Refreshments and cocktails served – each admission includes two free drink tickets. Cost is $20; less for students. Here is the link.

Say hello to the dinosaurs, sample a special witch's brew, tour the “haunted” halls. Costumes encouraged but not mandatory — but do note that the evening's “best” costume will be handsomely rewarded. The museum will close from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (normal hours) on Oct. 29 in order to prepare for the Halloween event.

Should you wish to visit this cultural treasure to see the exhibits, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $13; $6, ages three through 18.