Winter

Winter

Friday, October 10, 2014

Beautiful Days


Don't you just love October? This morning watching the day begin and seeing the sun turn the whole morning to gold. Seeing the blue of the sky. I read somewhere that October is a bright blue month. At the time, I thought that odd, but this morning, it was a bright blue morning. As I walked around and saw the first telltale signs of fall, a leaf turning yellow and watching the first ones drifting down slowly to the ground. I see tracks of things I haven"t  seen all summer. I found the tracks of the multilegged centipede. I followed it as it wandered what looked to me as aimlessly around and back and forth never seeming to go anywhere but working very hard at it.  Then I thought, if someone followed my tracks would they notice the same thing about me?


There is a fox that is out there and of course the skunk. There is a raccoon that passes through on its way to someplace else, I noticed the squirrel tracks but as of yet, haven't spotted one. They are just taking in the sights but haven't set up shop. I think I spotted some possum tracks but they too continued on the way to some other place. I think it must be a freeway out there at night. Every tree I pass I hear the odd sawing wood sound of the hummingbirds. I know if I look up to see if I can spot them, they will stop and be quiet and if I continue staring they will fly away. So I kept my eyes down and walked listening to each tree to hear each one.

The Flickers are finally back. I always am so happy to hear them before I see them. I always enjoy the greeting they give as they are establishing territory. The Blue Jays have all been in a uproar as the Flickers are calling back and forth to each other. There is a new Mockingbird. It is a new one as it doesn't have as many songs to sing as its parents. His parents I have noticed get really mad at him or her. When it sees its parents  the almost grown one flies to the top of the fence and flaps is wings and opens its mouth and makes that feed me! feed me!sound. I saw them hit it at full speed the other day and knock it off the fence and it hit the ground, like a ball of feathers. It sort of shocked me. I yelled and Sasha and the cats looked at me like I had lost it.  There is always some kind of drama going on in the bird world.




The crows are doing their quiet sneaking around. They go around inspecting trees looking for a late nest to rob. There have been some Ravens as well. They are so big. The normal crows that live here, hate the Ravens. There have been some pretty spectacular mid-air fights. I am always so surprised at the sound of the birds hitting each other with such force and how violent they are to one another. The Ravens just seem to laugh it off. The regular crows, fly to the top of the old pecan tree and announces to the whole world his misery. It is no wonder I always feel like something is watching me, because well, something is. They are all aware of my movements.


I am very thankful always for October. I love the chilly mornings. The clear days. I love the promise of rain.
I am very thankful to be alive. Thank you for sharing with me today, the joy of the simple things and the beauty that surrounds me.


" Sometimes the feeling is more important than the word."
---Nobody Stole the Pie, Sonia Levitin, 1980
" You have to stop when your're lonely and listen."
---If  You Listen, Charlotte Zolotow, 1980

13 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

truly hoping you'll get rain! love all your glories. and your flicker, too. we're forecast for some rain over the next couple of days. hope so.

Susan Kane said...

The white glory with the tinge of purple/pink in the center--what is called? They are all beautiful.

Pom Pom said...

I've never seen birds bump each other in a mean way. Sad! October is so friendly. I can tell you love the fall! You're a fall girl!

Kessie said...

So many animals and birds! I wonder if the drought is driving them out in search of food/water. In the old days, it would be a famine. You even have ravens! Those dudes are huge. We always see them at our rest stop in Castaic--they're as tall as the kids.

Christine said...

I'm glad our weather has settled and we have a nice spell after rain and storms.
I most often see seagulls being vicious, they are very bad mannered scavengers!
So glad you are enjoying October
Have a blessed weekend!

Meg said...

Haha we have bird drama around here too. I wonder what it is about birds that there is always some sort of drama. Kind of like people I guess. I hope you're having a nice Friday!

Julia said...

I enjoyed reading about your bird observation. We have black birds who attacks the crows in mid air and the crows attacks the eagles also in midair.
In the spring the hummingbirds fight for the feeder and are very agressive for their featherweight size.

I can believe how fast October is flying along.
Have a nice weekend my friend.
Hugs,
JB

Kim said...

We seem to be having an invasion of crows here too. There are hundreds of them everywhere

Kerin said...

Yes, I love October too!
It is my favorite month out of the year. I can understand why Oct. has been described as a bright blue month.
With the Indian Summer that we've been having, the skies are so pretty and such a clear blue color.

You make me smile... with your thoughts about milling around, seemingly with no direction. I do that also.
It's because I get started doing one thing, and then get sidetracked by another.

Have a great weekend!!

K.

Anonymous said...

I envy you all your bird goings-on, and how you know the names of so many birds and take the time to notice what they are up to -- except I don't envy you your crows. In some places the crows are taking over, and I don't care for them in the first place. Down the block from us a little girl has been throwing handfuls of bird seed into the middle of the street and sometimes I see crows there, but mostly it is just a messy place in the street...

Debbie said...

we are getting a lot of rain right now. i am "trying" to blow it your way ;)

i see your flicker is back, or has he been staying with you???

Dog Trot Farm said...

What beautiful photos Kim, love the new header photo too...Sounds like fall has arrived in your neck of the woods...It is a cool damp day here in Maine, the foliage has come to a peak, it is a good day to make an apple pie...or rake leaves! Hugs from Maine, Julie...

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

We just got a cold front last night...it has been in the high 90's here. I loved this and want to read it to Benjamin. You have caught nature at work. I loved the words...if someone followed my tracks..now that is a thought in more ways than one.
Have a great weekend