Musings

In the wee hours, we had some wind and a little rain. Leaves fell. Many leaves.

MaNachur made this still-life atop the stump, including that most of the leaves are colorful side up.

Meanwhile, the lake stayed quiet, although with white foam stripes on the surface.

Walking back from the lake, I heard airborne sandhill crane calls, then this group flew overhead. I was in the right place at the right time.

We had overcast all day, but very little rain considering how dry it is.

Posted at 7:32 PM | No Comments »

The sun appears.

Sometime later, I watched a busy bee.

I took a beach walk, and ventured beyond the point.

On my return and strolling the beach, I heard squawking above, looked up and saw no branches and caught the sound of departing birds. When my head was tipped back, I heard a plop at my feet. Looking down, I saw this critter scramble into the water, swim a meter or so away from me, then pause, I assumed to catch his/her breath, or whatever frogs do. After a moment, the critter kicked twice to reach the shallows, shown here. Did I startle the bird enough that it dropped the frog? That’s my hypothesis.

Posted at 9:30 PM | Comments Off on Astonishing moment

True, it was low-light (although it doesn’t look like it), but that bee was SPEEDY!

Posted at 9:00 PM | Comments Off on Just before dusk

This has nothing to do with the picture or my personal events of the day, but recently I discovered (or, probably, was reminded) that the loons of North America are called divers in the British Isles. [This is another example of common name confusion.]

Posted at 8:08 PM | Comments Off on Diverse divers

Surprise (sarcastically): these milkweed pods are infested with…milkweed bugs.

Posted at 8:46 PM | Comments Off on Paired common names

Swans and the old fire tower, closed to the public the last time I walked by it several years ago.

Reflections on still water….

Posted at 9:12 PM | Comments Off on Refuge drive

I hypothesize that these are the same two fawns we saw yesterday, here visiting in the early afternoon. And I saw them again several hours later in the same spot.

We’ve been seeing these distinctive footprints on the beach by the dozen…finally figured out they’re made by wild turkeys…which I have neither seen nor heard around the property.

Posted at 8:26 PM | 2 Comments »

I visited the beach early enough that I sent Mama Loon and at least eight offspring zipping into the safety of deep water. Always love to hear loon calls and to see the birds.

Posted at 8:06 PM | Comments Off on Early bonus

Sunrise. Still humid, hence the haze.

Surprise fish at the shore. Don’t know what kind; not leech!

Illustration of growing apples and apple green, highlighted by the low morning light.

Posted at 7:30 PM | Comments Off on Early beach visit

Did that title catch your eye? What I mean is that the humidity and murkiness evident first thing in the morning (here), and obscuring the far shore, heralded in a hot, moist day, good for reading and low-key activities all afternoon. And sipping ice water…that kind of day-drinking.

My morning beach tour became a leech-hunting expedition. I found the Garish Green Sand Shovel mostly buried in the uppper-beach sand on my first tour. It’s perfect for leech-tossing. The storminess of previous days sent lots of the boneless critters toward the beach, where I pitched them onto the beach, then tossed them to the off-beach vegetation. I returned a bit later to get a second harvest, as I found so many on the first visit. I think the total was two dozen. No lie.

Posted at 5:59 PM | Comments Off on Day drinking