Glimpses of fall color

Cooler weather finally arrived, and the trees are showing more color. I am hoping the rain falling now will wash off the dust and reveal more color. Yes, it is actually raining as I write this. Whether or not it continues long enough to do much more than wash off the leaves remains to be seen. Recent “showers” have been no more than a few drops. You can see how low the river is.

10-7-19

10-8-19

10-9-19

10-10-19

10-12-19

10-13-19

10-16-19

10-17-19

10-18-19

10-19-19

We had a light frost, but the marigolds and zinnias in my garden are still blooming, and the butterflies continue to visit. I haven’t seen monarchs in the past few days, but a few passed through after the last post.

Monarch Danaus plexippus

Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae

Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanillae

Long-tailed Skipper Urbanus proteus

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

I still see my friend the turtle almost every day and take a persimmon or two down to him on every walk. The persimmons are almost gone, and I hope that the rain will loosen the soil enough for him to dig a safe den and hibernate. I saw another turtle last week; I think it was looking for a hibernation place, too.

Closer to home, the deer and turkeys continue to come to eat. The drought has made it difficult for the deer to find food in the woods, and they have been grazing on my “lawn” where I welcome the turkeys that eat the weed seeds. Oh! And one morning I looked out and saw these two big bucks in the meadow. I wonder if they were checking out the “girls” before the rut.