November 6th, 10am
In the Fall, the weather can be completely different from day to day. Last week was a week of contrasts, one day being sunny and warm, with no wind, and the next day was cool and wet, with showers coming down heavy at times, and windy. Walking out in the valley, I was delighted at how lovely it was. The day of sunshine brought out the Western Bluebirds, by the dozen, to catch the insects that were flying everywhere. Dragonflies seemed to be streaming over as they had done in the springtime. This day they were food for many birds, including the Black Phoebes and American Kestrels. The sky was extremely blue. Even the cows seemed to be soaking in the sunshine.Then the same week I was out in the pouring rain, puddles filling the roads, the sound of the water in Davis creek beginning to fill the air. Every bird seemed to hunker down,such as the Red Shouldered Hawks in the tall Ash trees, looking like hunched over gnomes. The grass had to have grown several inches higher since the last time I noticed, making the fields look quite green overall. It is now the time of the lichens and mosses, which are now the most predominant color on all the trees. These small plants stand out in the Fall and winter because of the lack of leaves on our deciduous trees. The drought of summer is over and we can all breath a sigh of relief.
