Being out in the imperfect wild area adjacent to our home brings on a different mindset. The sounds of morning traffic and passing aircraft seem somehow muted, but the chirp of a distant phoebe and rustle of wing-beats overhead are magnified.
Immature Wood Stork:
Eastern Phoebe:
Time stands still, measured not by a clock but by the depth of morning shadows and the increasing heat of the south Florida sun.
In a shady spot or on an overcast day I can spend the better part of an hour just staring into a thicket, tracking slight movements of limb and leaf, following shadowy figures among the twigs and enjoying the distractions caused by fluttering butterflies.
Zebra heliconian on Ligustrum:
The touch of a breeze, the hint of smoke in the air, the sweet scent of Ligustrum blossoms and the turpentine smell of blooming Meleleuca are nearly subliminal but essential parts of the outdoor experience.
Ligustrum attracts a Polka-Dot Wasp Moth:
Gray Squirrel eats Melaleuca blossoms:
Where others may see black, I can see color.
Boat-tailed Grackle:
At the rookery, watch and wait. The hidden beauty of a courting Yellow-crowned Night-Heron will be revealed:
The Tricolored Heron includes many tints in its three-toned palette:
Uninvited, but so welcome, a bright green female Painted Bunting decides to spend a few seconds before me, in perfect morning light:
Another small but thrilling surprise-- a curious Bobcat cub makes ready to retreat:
A Carolina Wren, often so elusive, is staged very prominently in front of a tree trunk, but look-- beneath it is a carpet of wild Poinsettias. Christmas is not far away!
Close-up of Wild Poinsettia:
They are just a row of boulders along the path...
...but look closely and find "life on a rock:"
Back home, a Green Iguana sun-bathes on our patio wall:
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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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:
