Gold comes in many colors, mostly shades of yellow. In temperate climes these are the colors of fall. In Florida, the foliage resists the change, but we find gold in the sky. We have temporarily left behind the golden sunrise over our lake in south Florida:
Upon returning to Illinois after spending much of the summer in the Sunshine State, we welcomed the refreshing cool breezes and the profusion of wildflowers on the prairie. Yellow now predominates, in the flowers and in the plumage of the most common bird that nests among them.
American Goldfinches bounce over the prairie, twittering their flight song, repeating phrases ("per-chick-o-ree") synchronized with each dip in undulating flight:
Male Bobolinks have shed their distinctive black and white breeding colors and have molted into golden basic plumage, quite identical to females in appearance:
Greenish-gold Tennessee Warblers are heading south for the winter:
A lowly grasshopper on a milkweed leaf reflects the light as would a replica made of precious metal:
The Chickweed Geometer moth adds a regal touch of purple:
Sunlight suffusing through the turning leaves of the canopy provide a golden backdrop for a female House Finch...
...and for this Chipping Sparrow:
An Eastern Wood-Pewee is bathed in golden bokeh:
The plumage of a Cedar Waxwing is best described as burnished gold:
Butterflies are becoming scarce as gold. I suspect that the widespread use of insecticides, out of fear of West Nile Virus, may be a factor. Great Spangled Fritillary (my first):
Back-lighting accentuates the gold tones in the wings of a Monarch butterfly, another creature threatened by human activity, particularly loss of habitat and host milkweed; I have examined hundreds of milkweed plants the past few weeks and have found no caterpillars:
Pearls come in every color of the rainbow. This is a Pearl Crescent:
One of the namesake hills in nearby Hickory Knolls woodland is a mound of gold:
We spent a long Labor Day weekend in Door County, a narrow peninsula in northeastern Wisconsin, about 275 miles (440 km) north of our Illinois home. It projects out into Lake Michigan (seen here), flanked by Green Bay to the west:
On our first morning the yellow of goldenrod pierces through the fog that has rolled ashore:
The fog mutes the reflections of the dock at the marina:
A Bumblebee collects pollen from a Purple Coneflower:
A Clouded Sulphur contributes to the color scheme:
An inquisitive Red Squirrel clings to the stringy bark of a White Cedar, which a predominant tree in coastal areas of northern Wisconsin:
Back home in Illinois, Agramonte, our granddaughters' golden Tibetan Mastiff, greets us at the driveway:
Taking another trip down Memory Lane. This month's potpourri gathered from the archives features the themes of critters, fences, skies, macros and reflections. It is a retrospective view of photos taken three years ago, in September, 2012. At that time I did not seek to portray each of these memes. Although I never lack photos of "critters," it is a matter of chance whether I find any fences, skies, macros or reflections in that month's selections. Let's see how far I need to go into the month to find at least one of each. If I can get them all I will have won the game nine months in a row since starting in January, 2015.
We began the month at our second home in northeastern Illinois. On September 8 Mary Lou and I were "Birding Bliss"-- Bliss Woods, that is, in nearby Sugar Grove, Illinois. One of my first photos was from the little bridge at the beginning of the trail, and it included a superb REFLECTION!
That was great luck, so early in the month's archives. That day we saw quite a few Wood Warblers, among them this Cape May Warbler (September 8, 2012):
We returned to Florida a few days later but, as usual, it took us a few days to catch up on shopping, medical appointments and all the other distractions that accompany a change of station. On our first day afield in our local wetlands (September 19, 2012) we encountered a beautiful male Prairie Warbler:
Another warbler, an inquisitive Northern Waterthrush suddenly flew up from the understory:
A reclusive female Common Yellowthroat peered out from the foliage (September 20):
More forthcoming, a male yellowthroat sported a black mask (September 24):
Also on September 24, an active monochromic Black-and-white Warbler lacked only one color,...
... exhibited by the aptly named Yellow-throated Warbler.
On the same colorful morning, a male Northern Cardinal:
One sought-after butterfly (and the best MACRO I could find) appeared on September 23, a Ruddy Daggerwing:
Another close-up, this time of lichens on Pond Cypress, September 23:
Sunrise from our back patio on September 22 finally provides us with our SKY shot...
...and a pink sky shot on September 27 actually did show the gate into our birding patch...
...but we had to go all the way to September 28 before finding a photo containing a bona fide FENCE. That was a narrow escape from failure!
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa).
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________