Autumn Images

The hickory tree in the backyard

I am caught in the scramble of what is autumn--days filled with lovely leaves and decorated by bits and pieces of warmth. While inside, winter chores peek out from behind dingy glass and closet doors—a reminder of all that has been set aside as I do so many things I would rather.
I look away.
If our eyes do not meet, it is as if I they cannot see me.

Outdoors, a garden begs to be tucked in before the worst of weather,
piles of pumpkins to turn into pies smile in wait at the back door.
Yet, on a morning like this, with bright sunshine and a balmy breeze, I stepped into boots and grabbed my camera.
Images like these I will remember long after these warm autumn days have passed.

Eastern Bluebird female at nesting boxes

Milkweed pods open and filled with milkweed bugs

A Downy Woodpecker feeds on Poison Ivy berries

Eastern Comma Butterfly, with wings folded looks like a tattered leaf.
Open, it is quite a different story.

I sat low in the grass and waited for birds by Little Pond Pool. Then there was a rustle of footsteps, and long, sloppy drinking from the shallow water. As I craned my neck to see above the tall weedy bank, they lifted their heads just long enough to see where I was. Then bounded off again, buried in the grass of the field.

Three deer

Eastern Bluebird female on fencepost