A view of the pond in October. The vegetation is dying down quickly now.

Look how big this leaf is! (Fairly normal-sized foot included for scale.)



The big dead tree on Marnie's Point continues to provide a home for all sorts of living things.

"Nature is, above all, profligate. Don't believe them when they tell you how economical and thrifty nature is, whose leaves return to the soil. Wouldn't it be cheaper to leave them on the tree in the first place? This deciduous business alone is a radical scheme, the brainchild of a deranged manic-depressive with limitless capital. Extravagance! Nature will try anything once ... This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent."

from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Green spaces improve health!

Some snaps from Thanksgiving weekend:

Turkey vultures migrating:

Hairy woodpecker:

A late, well-worn butterfly:

A bookend to the frost we had on Victoria Day:

I was crouched by the pond today, musing that I had yet to see a turtle in it, when something drifted into view:

Oh! I was thrilled! I was -- wait ... it's ... dead? I watched it hang in the water for a long time without moving as I wondered whether our pond is actually as healthy as I'd hoped. Finally the little turtle stretched out its wee legs and lazily turned over.

Whew! I found a second one nearby doing the same kind of thing. I'm guessing this is a form of camouflage: maybe if it looks enough like a floating leaf, it can escape being eaten. The great blue heron was also at the pond, hoping for a tasty turtle snack. I could only find two baby turtles, but I'm assuming there were many more to begin with and some have fallen victim to herons and other dangers.

This one put on a mad burst of speed:

Yellow Jewelweed:

And Spotted Jewelweed:

Bees have to really commit themselves to reach the nectar:

The seedpods are excellent fun because they pop open at a touch, spewing seeds and little green springs all over. I've read that you can eat the seeds so I tried one this morning. I found it quite pleasant, but I'll save any more I gather for smuggling to Beechwood and planting.

As fall approaches I find myself wandering through -- or past -- Beechwood without actually doing any work. I accomplished a lot over the summer and now I think I'll just admire things before winter arrives. The insects are still very active:

A cardinal wonders what I'm up to:

A sedge extends its seeds over the pond:

Oh, little rose tree, bloom!
Summer is nearly over.
The dahlias bleed, and the phlox is seed,
Nothing's left of the clover,
And the path of the poppy no one knows.
I would blossom if I were a rose.

Summer, for all your guile,
Will brown in a week to Autumn,
And launched leaves throw a shadow below
Over the brook's clear bottom, --
And the chariest bud the year can boast
Be brought to bloom by the chastening frost.

- Edna St. Vincent Millay