September 24, 2014

Notes and Changes since last report

  • It was 69°F, partly cloudy and calm at 12:30 PM on September 24, 2014.
  • September has been pretty nice.
  • Fall colors were bold in some of the maples on the way in; here they were just starting.
  • Well, it was the first day of Fall.

The Trails

  • Hints of Fall were creeping into the edge of the front Old Hayfield.
  • I was just focusing on two robber flies on neighboring leaves when they disappeared from the view finder. They reappeared together on one leaf.
  • That last little patch of wild bergamot was still attracting a last great spangled fritillary.
  • Butter-and-eggs was one thing looking fresh. It's common and easily overlooked; I wondered when it had started blooming.
  • I had lunch on the bench in the Old Pasture surrounded by little bluestem.
  • Fields like this were typical childhood haunts.
  • A flash of orange around an oak across the way snapped me out of my reverie.
  • Scanning turned up an eastern comma soaking up the sun in typical head down posture.
  • On the way out, I was surprised to find winterberry in such a dry place - then remembered I shouldn't be: it had surprised me last year.
  • The bluff above the Wappinger Creek was looking very autumnal with leaves all over the ground.
  • In the Fern Glen's limestone cobble, Solomon's seal berries were the size of grapes.
  • Back in the fen, poison sumac berries stood out against the turning leaves.
  • The cinnamon fern behind me was taking on an earthy golden glow.
  • On the way out staghorn sumac was fruiting very differently from the other species.
  • The sap run in the Old Gravel Pit looked abandoned at first, but there were several commas and... the question mark that had eluded me last week.
  • I wondered what the moth action in the evening is like here...
  • Farther along this trail two ovenbirds and I startled each other. We checked each other out but they always managed to disappear just at the wrong moment.
  • The Scotch Pine Alleé is always beautiful, but today the red virginia creeper really added something.
  • I thought I was done til I passed by the magnolia. The big fuzzy buds are one of the first things I watch in the spring, bit I don't know if I'd ever noticed the fruit.
  • Always something new.
Sightings