Well! I've been out and about in the past month and a half, and also working hard, and in that time: Fall happened! The weather report is calling for snow this weekend (!), so this seems like the best and last time to share the pictures of fall in Central New York that have been gathering on my computer since my last post. I missed this season deeply during my year in Northern California, so I tried to absorb as much fall as I could in recent weeks. Here are some sights from all of fall!
Way back on October 11, I was at the Roy H. Park Preserve just as the fall foliage was really getting going. I love seeing the trees make these waves of color:
A pair of White Cabbage Butterflies were feeding at New England Aster blossoms (Aster novae-angliae) while also making the next generation of butterflies. Actually, I guess just the one butterfly was feeding while the other was along for the ride. This whole process looks rather ungainly, but I guess it works:
All sorts of interesting fungi were sprouting up in the damp woods. This one log was home to at least three types of fungi, all with such different shapes and textures:
And this strange fungus looked like it was bubbling out of its tree's trunk:
A lovely little Garter Snake sat on the sunny forest floor near the path, waiting for the humans to move on:
A few days later, on October 14, I was back at another part of the Park Preserve, again marveling at the colors on the trees. Yes, we do fall pretty well here. I'll take it!
This was apparently a good week for snakes, because I nearly stepped on a Northern Water Snake who was basking on the path and looking way too much like a scraggly root:
The snake stayed motionless while we walked around it -- it was a chilly morning after all -- and I got to peek at its face through the grass:
In the woods, bright Canada Mayflower berries looked like little clusters of Christmas ornaments:
An almost-as-red dragonfly (one of the late-flying Meadowhawk species, I think) perched nearby, lacy wings against a lacy fallen leaf:
I'm always impressed that some insects are able to survive into the fall, past frosts and increasing cold. Several big grasshoppers were active in the marshy fields, and this one paused long enough on the boardwalk to have its picture taken:
On October 29, I got to walk in Sapsucker Woods, and the place was wonderful as always. The trees in some parts of these woods were bare by this point:
But other areas of the woods were still full and golden:
Witch Hazel blossoms floated over the path. How cool to see yellow leaves and yellow blossoms in the same day:
The view at the big pond was so still and beautiful:
A few Painted Turtles were out sunning, including this fellow with his impressively long claws:
And then, all of a sudden, it was late fall. On November 8, I was back at the Park Preserve, and the place was wholly different:
I have to say, for all the amazing riot of color in early-to-mid fall, I think I might love the muted colors of late fall around here even more... the floating yellows especially (are those birches?) but also the rusted browns and hazy grays and dark conifer greens. Ah, love:
The fields were filled with goldenrods gone to seed, here backlit for extra drama:
Even at this late date, a showy Meadowhawk dragonfly was still cruising around:
I happened to take a picture of almost the same scene at the Park Preserve nearly a month apart, and I love how these sights are both the same and totally different. Here's October 14:
And now, on November 8:
This place is amazing. :)
Today was a beautiful day, warm and bright, and perfectly appropriate for the first day of spring! To celebrate the turning seasons, I went for a walk in Naugatuck State Forest this afternoon. I was hoping, when I set out, that the mid-50s weather and the rain-soaked ground would bring out the Wood Frogs, but I saw no signs of amphibians yet. Ah well, there's plenty of time to meet up with these creatures in the weeks to come. In the meantime, there were lots of other things to see in the woods!
As soon as I arrived, I was greeted in the parking area by a flock of American Robins feasting on cascades of bittersweet berries (the introduced Asian plant species, I believe):
Now that the ground is soft and mostly snow-free, I would expect the robins to be hunting for food there. But I guess these birds still like their fruit, too:
The bodies of water in this park are still mostly iced over, but the melting edges made some cool-looking paths through the ice:
And who should be in one pond's melted corner but a trio of Hooded Mergansers! This seems to be quite the week for Hooded Mergansers, after my other relatively close viewing a few days ago. Well, I'm always happy to see such awesome birds! The trio included two males, who were (of course) gorgeous:
Hello, Mr. Merganser, with your funny head.
There was quite a bit of chasing and stretching and preening among the two males, who were probably hoping to impress the single female. I guess it's getting to be that time!
I also love how, for all their elegance in some poses, the males can look downright frumpy when those hoods go down:
And I have to say, as awesome as the males are, I'm kind of obsessed with the female Hooded Merganser right now. How beautiful is her auburn hairdo?
What a glamorous lady:
I spent a long time with the mergansers, but there were lots of other cool sights as well. This orange fungus looks like it's about to explode out of this tree.
And this sleek Sharp-shinned Hawk perched up high with its songbird meal (looking like it had two tails):
What a wonderful day in the woods. Happy first day of spring!
This morning I decided to go on an adventure in a brand new woods (new to me, that is). Off I went to the Bent of the River Audubon sanctuary!
This place turned out to be basically wonderful. It had deep woods with delightful streams and pools, and wide meadows dotted with huge trees:
And a long trail following the river that gives the sanctuary its name:
The most amazing thing to me, though, was how obviously well cared-for this place is. I saw no trash at all on the whole 2+ miles of trails I walked. None. Every other park I go to around here always has at least the occasional (sometimes more than that) beer can, fishing line, cigarette butt, etc., so this seemed pretty crazy by comparison. I also didn't see any other people on the trails. I'm sure the fact that Bent of the River doesn't allow dogs, bikes, or fishing is related to all this. In any case, I loved it. Except for the well-groomed trails and occasional nesting box, this place really felt like it was more about nature than it was about people. I felt totally comfortable ambling along these trails (and not at all dorky with my binoculars and camera), and I was happy to pay the suggested $5 trail fee to get to hang out here.
And as for my actual woods walk, there was plenty to see! Now that the canopy has entirely leafed out, I heard a lot more birds than I saw, but that just meant I got to work on identifying by ear. (Normally I take pictures of things I don't recognize to figure out IDs later, and today I was doing a lot of sound recording for the same reason.)
Although the birds stayed out of camera range, several other creatures did come close. A few Little Wood Satyr butterflies were chasing each other through the woods and fields, and one let me creep up on it for a picture:
(I love those orange antennae.)
A dark fishfly (genus Nigronia) fluttered around on oversized wings:
And this Ebony Jewelwing damselfly was definitely jewel-like in the light-dappled forest:
At one point, I turned around to face where I had just been walking, and I was surprised to find that an Eastern Garter Snake had suddenly appeared a few feet away from me and directly in my path:
Sneaky snake! Oo, look at your pretty red and black tongue:
I looked away to check my camera's settings, and when I looked back up the snake had completely disappeared again. I think this snake might have some ninja skills.
I had been hoping to see Pink Lady's Slippers in bloom in these woods, but all I managed to find were several large flower-less plants:
Oh well, maybe these plants will have flowers next year.
The Mountain Laurel was just opening its fancy flowers:
These flowers are gorgeous, but I also really like the way these buds look before they open, like little shooting stars lighting up the woods:
Continuing the lighting theme, these (I think) Varnish Shelf Fungi (Ganoderma tsugae) were like weirdly-shaped lanterns:
In the fields, huge Cow Parsnip plants were opening their big flower-umbrellas a few feet above the ground:
It was definitely a good morning, and if I lived closer to this place it would become one of my frequent haunts. And really, any nature walk gets bonus awesome points when it ends with a field of horses:
:)
This morning I made a quick visit to Southford Falls State Park to fulfill my woods-walking urge. I was hoping to see lots of birds (fall migration: it's happening!), but there weren't a ton of feathered creatures around. While the tree-tops were relatively quiet, though, I did get to see some cool things, including this Ovenbird who took time out of skulking in the dark forest floor to give me a good looking-over -- I think these birds are really pretty, and it's always nice to meet one in the woods:
In the shaded, damp paths, interesting fungi were springing up. I don't know what these small orange/red fungi are, but they looked like bright lights scattered among the green moss:
And this yellow coral fungi happened to be growing in a patch of early-morning sun, making it stand out even more against the dark ground:
On the shores of the park's pond, Broadleaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) was holding shining white blooms above the water:
I didn't stay too long, and on my drive home, I decided to stop by a place on Paul's running route where he has told me he often sees a Muskrat. When I got out and looked around, sure enough, there was a big furry rodent (smaller than a Groundhog) with a long tail, munching its way through the grass:
This creature must be pretty used to people walking by its home, because it looked up at me a few times and just kept on eating:
Hello, Muskrat! You're pretty cute!
I don't know that I've ever had the chance to actually watch one of these creatures before, so that was a very cool end to my adventure for the day. (And by complete coincidence, I heard the song "Muskrat Love" for the first time yesterday. Oh dear.)
