AstroGypsies

I see Winter on it’s way…sigh…happens so quickly, that burst of amazing colour and in a few weeks only the the oaks are valiantly trying to hang onto their leaves. When the sun hits the tree tops across the lake it is gray now. We did enjoy the full moon, harvest moon, whatever, it’s a full moon rising and a few reflections on the lake. That orange colour is wild!

The road is quiet, save for the gunshots from the swamps, duck hunting began and tomorrow, oh joy, deer hunting…that was sarcasm. The end of my walks down the road for two weeks as the mostly deaf, partially blind old assholes get ready to shoot the deer they have been feeding all Summer and Fall. Great sport that…they must be cunning hunters. I’ll leave it at that.

I miss the swan family, the swamp did have a few Hooded Merganser pairs swimming at the far end, but too far away to photograph. The swan family made it over to the Lake for a few days but kept their distance on the far side. I’m glad babies’ flight wings came so easily!

I hope the pair come back to nest in the Spring. This morning I counted 14 swans at the far end of the bay! One family has six cygnets, the other two each have one. One lone juvenile was chased off, geez, even geese can’t get along! Poor youngster, lost his family along the way, hope he finds some company.

I’d petition for a name change if I was them;)

There are little blocks of life along the road still, always fascinating what you can see if you walk quietly:) I ambled past the most beautiful spider I have ever seen. She was dangling from her web, at my head height , in the middle of the road. I think it was an Arabesque Orb Weaver. Not confirmed but I read that Arabesque orb-weavers are, like any other orb-weaver, non-aggressive spiders. Only in rare cases, where the spider feels threatened, bites to humans or pets occur. The bite of an arabesque orb-weaver is not medically significant and the pain is mostly short-lived and comparable to a bee sting. I watched her with wonder! Spinning her way through life:)

I have been surprised by several late butterflies. The Gary Comma and Clouded Sulphur. As the mornings heat up a few Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies are still about, they blend in so well with the fallen leaves they can be difficult to spot until they move! I watched a small wolf spider cross the road in front of me…and I feel daunted at times, imagine them! It is invasion of the Ladybugs right now as well, looking for a place to spend the Winter. They were swarming a poplar tree, do they drink the sap? Beautiful but invasive these catarinas, their name in Spanish. These are an invasive species here this variety.

Did you know these wooly white things eat them?! With the leaves gone I am seeing these all over…Woolly Alder Aphid (Prociphilus tessellatus). White fluff on trees! Just wild!

“They are usually seen on leaves, twigs or bark. Although infested leaves shrivel and drop early, the pests cause little permanent damage. They are an important resource for natural biological controls such as lacewings, lady beetles, hover flies, and parasitic wasps.
Prociphilus tessellatus, known generally as the woolly alder aphid or maple blight aphid
It requires alder and silver maple to complete its life cycle. Occasionally, it is found on red maple.
The aphids on the trees are wingless. They feed on sap from the time of bud-break until late June. Then winged adults, some with abdomens covered in white fluffy wax, are produced in the colonies. These winged migrants readily fly when disturbed.” from iNaturalist. Here’s some more info from BugGuide.net

The Fall birds are starting to arrive, and a few are simply passing through, lucky bastards! It is a long flight South to Mexico though! A Hermit Thrush was poking about in the leaves and shrubs, unbothered as I walked past. I had to sit and watch the Swamp Sparrow for a awhile. They are busy little birds, flitting among the reeds! Swamp sparrows generally forage on the ground near the water’s edge, in shallow water or in marsh vegetation. In winter, their diet is principally fruit and seeds, while during the breeding season their diet is mainly arthropods.

I have heard another small little bird for the last week on our road, singing away quite brightly, it finally held still long enough for a photo-a Golden-crowned Kinglet-new bird for me here. It is a is a very small songbird in the family Regulidae that lives throughout much of North America. This is one of the smallest passerines in North America. The Dark eyed Juncos have also arrived back:) I caught a shot of one, with a tick on it! Ye gads! Is no one safe!

I will miss the leaves. The bright red and greens of the maples are done, the incredible purple tones of the Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) are dazzling but they have faded as well. Earth tones reign supreme for the time being before everything fades. There is beauty and life there, just harder to see.

I do love the milkweed seeds, slowly taking off in the gusts of wind. It’s almost about light and shadows now. The Virgin’s-Bower (Clematis virginiana) seed heads hang on the vine like white Christmas tree lights. Beautiful. Along the road on the fence in the swamp a vine of Virginia Creeper berries covers the barbed wire, they can’t be that tasty, maybe left for last by the passing birds! These berries contain toxic amounts of oxalic acid and have been known to cause kidney damage and death to humans. The berries are not toxic to birds and provide an important winter food source for many bird species according to iNaturalist.

The red squirrels are providing a great deal of excitement in the bush. It is astounding to see this small squirrel, chasing a gray/black squirrel three times it’s size out of IT’S territory! The black squirrels run as if their lives depended upon fleeing these red headed terrors! They haven’t moved into the yard yet, that will come. A large female gray squirrel still rules the roost here! That tail!

The chipmunks avoid everyone! They are getting ready to go underground with their stash of bird seed and acorns!

It’s time I put my wildlife camera up. The raccoon family has been raiding my table top decorative pumpkins. They bore a small hole in each one and scoop out the seeds! So smart! I’ll try to catch them on camera. The bird feeders all have to come down at night now or they swing from them, and we don’t need the bears destroying them either! Always something. It’s been a wild week, but I’ll catch up tomorrow! Did you horses can get Lyme and Anaplasmosis as well? Yup…stay tuned! Frigging copy cat!

I’ll leave you with some morning mists. There was frost on the far side this morning. Saludos amigos!