Good bye October....

The sun peeked out in the middle of the afternoon...calling to all of us to enjoy its warmth. I headed to the park and as I was parking the car I noticed this bald cypress tree just bursting with color! In the Spring and Summer these trees always look like evergreens to me but they are actually deciduous and after exhibiting these gorgeous colors, they, too, will eventually drop their leaves.


We are not seeing the usual autumn colors we normally see but there isn't a shortage of food. The trees and bushes are laden with fruit.

The milkweed are gracefully allowing the winds to carry its spider-like seeds into the air...

..while these orange and black beetles (milkweed bugs) feed on the juices of the seeds of the plants..

From bugs to bucks grazing in this field. I don't usually see male deer grazing together..and so I WAS very surprised when they picked up their heads to look my way!! Aren't they just striking to look at? Such handsome faces!!

I decided to sit a while on one of the many stone benches in the park. Many of the benches were made to exhibit tiles made at the Mercer Tiles Works, in Doylestown, Pa. Henry Chapman Mercer was a famous historian, archaeologist, collector and ceramist--a Renaissance man of the early 20th Century. Born and raised in Bucks County, his famous castle, tile works and museum are just a few miles away from where I live.

The late afternoon sun was showing all the colors of a fading October...and as I got up to leave I noticed that I had been in the company of one of my favorite birds. I guess he was also enjoying the last of the afternoon rays. As I drove home the sun lost its battle with the clouds. Rain again is in the forecast..tomorrow bringing a change in our clocks..but for now I guess, it's time to gather in front of the TV and hope our Phils win tonight!

Finding those posed birds!!

I was out looking for something different, something I haven't seen before, something that was easy to take a picture of... A little Ruby-crowned Kinglet landed not far from where I was walking. I know for a fact that fast and furious is a good way to describe these little birds when they are hungry. zoom zoom zoom....


...and I've learned that you always collect a huge file of bird butt shots...even if you don't try to!

I saw Eastern Phoebes, who unlike the RC Kinglets, strike a nice perched pose ONCE in a while..

and this Osprey who is a local resident at our nearest lake...seeing him WAY up there perched on his throne..is always a real treat!!




but it was this couple who caught my eye, as I made my way home. I've been looking for a small little fountain that would compliment my rather small backyard during the warmer months. I knew the moment I saw it that this was what I was looking for..the forever permanently-posed bird!! Picture ready...
Now, how far away is Spring, I'm ready!! ;-)