AstroGypsies

I knew it, all I had to do was walk out the road yesterday with my camera and of course it would rain! It worked, and yes, I had my white tall can plastic bag to cover the camera, high tech it’s not;) The heatwave has broken, finally, the ground has been crispy with each step so this is a much welcome relief! Hopefully it will keep up all night! We’ve been tempted by storms, as the above photos show back mid month, but this is finally a good soaking! It will be canoe bailing time! Never been happier to do that!

The deer flies have mostly disappeared so I truly enjoyed my first walk out the road for the mail in what feels like months! I was on a rock removal mission after our neighbours’ nephew dragged the entire road with a small garden tractor and some kind of rear scraping bucket attachment over and over again…0_0.. It was wonderful that he was filling the potholes on the hills, where he should have stopped, but he dragged where there was no material to drag and kicked up all the 2-3″ under layer of rock. Bitch to walk on, but hey who walks anymore? Hard on low profile tires and they get stuck between dual back wheels of larger trucks/RV’s/trailers as well, Baja roads taught us that:). My mission, kick rocks off the road, lift and chuck the ones too big to kick;) Hopefully he learned something, the nephew;) Age and experience…sigh;) The road elf went to work, it is considering striking in the future;) I maybe becoming a class A curmudgeon, wait, maybe I am already! Ungrateful wench that I am;) Don’t get me started;)

The leaves are turning in so many places, just seems too soon! Drought will do that. My red maple is now bare:(

Along the road there are still wildflowers blooming. Unlike where we are, up on rock, the soil is so thin even the milkweed have wilted away. It was not a great flower summer, watering didn’t seem to help, it was just too damn hot! The remaining milkweed in the shadier spots have been home to several Tussock Caterpillar species, no monarchs sadly:(

There have been a few beetles on the milkweed as well as an occasional Katydid, they are just so green!…and the hordes of flying grasshoppers! The cats don’t know which one to go after! And a beautiful green stink bug! The Goldenrod has been covered in wasps, bees and other flies as soon as the sun pops out!

The dragonflies left are mostly the Autumn meadowhawks with their yellow legs, an occasional very red White Faced Meadowhawk and I got a Darner! He/she has been evading me for weeks! So fast, so well camouflaged I couldn’t even see where it was landing! They are gorgeous! A Canada Darner! Blue and green and black! I have seen an occasional Tuxedo Dragonfly as well, I call the black and white winged ones that, Widow Skimmers;)

It was the wonderful feel of walking, and not running from bugs I enjoyed the most, photographers speed (turtle) taking in all the flowers and bugs and a few birds, but it was mostly quiet, a rare event here recently;) I had to dodge the Amazon delivery girl, she looked startled, but I waved and she slowed down and waved back smiling…I can imagine the residents are not friendly in some places;) Ha!

I was surprised by the bumblebees! So many! I was expecting more dragonflies but just the small Autumn meadowhawks along the road and in the swamp. The tri-coloured Bumblebees were a nice surprise!

I stopped to check the mail and as I walked back a Monarch was landing on the swamp milkweed at the edge of the road. An older couple stopped while I was photographing the monarch and asked about the swans…they missed them, I told them I did as well…hope they made it the youngsters:)

I’ve never seen the swamps so low, dry in some places along the road. Hopefully this rain will help, it’s a start! The leaves are already turning on many bushes and small trees. It will be a thin offering of Fall colour this year I think!

I noticed a few berries on my way back, no black raspberries, all dried up, and or eaten! The spikenard berries were beautiful, They had a perching friend:) I swear the White Baneberry have alien eyes! Ha!) and so many of the tomato like, but toxic fruits of the Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara). I’ll be keeping an eye on them as their leaves turn bright purple later in the year!

We’ll wait and see if any mushrooms appear after the rain, hoping it goes all night! The hummingbirds have slowed down, only a few juveniles about, the adults are gone, as have many of the regulars at the feeder, only a few grackles and the ever present Hairy woodpeckers left, but I’ll catch up on them this weekend! I’ll leave today with the little orphaned barn raccoon, Riley. She is quite the delight/pest ha! Hopefully she will move into the barn with her own kin this Fall, we’ll see! Alice says NONE of her fish is to be shared!!

Saludos amigos! Isn’t nature grand!