Saturday Morning Walk

By the calendar, it is suppose to be fall however it has hard to tell from the temperatures. The two days after fall officially arrived the temperature was in mid to upper 90's. The shorter days and subtle changes in leaf color are sure clues however. The annual bombardment by acorns has also begun. Ali has a definite taste for acrons and I have already found some in the house half eaten. I have never seen a dog who loves to eat them the way she does.

Last night was like a summer evening. The hunidity was very high and it was a nice balmy 78 deg at 9:00 p.m. The frogs were singing so loudly I expected to see a chorus perched on the rocks. When I spotted the one close to the house that was responding to the calls of the frogs at the big pond, I was surpirsed that one little frog could be so loud. A little later several other frogs joined on the chorus.

I have not gone to walk at my favorite park /wildlife refuge for a couple of weeks. Work and other priorites seem to put a halt to my visits. This morning was a little cooler so I went for a biscuit and went on to the park before too many folks arrived. For about the first 30 minutes I had the park to myself. The quiet and peace were wonderful.

As I was walking to the back marsh area, I noticed a bird insect hunting and was delighted to see this Great Crested Flycatcher. As they are generally a migratory bird in this area I figured they had left for the year. The pair that was in this park did nest this year which was wonderful.

I walked very quietly to the marsh area having camera at the ready. I almost did not see the first young deer until I was up on it. A couple of shots and then it moved on. As it was walking on, another youg deer came out. Although in the picture it looks like it may be the mother of the fawn, it was still a young deer and and very faint white markings left on the haunches. It is standing on a raised area so it just looks more like an adult doe.