Once again we peer through the retrospectroscope to refresh our memories of three years ago, searching the archives for favorite memes such as critters of all kinds (especially birds, flowers and butterflies), scenes of fences, skies, reflections and images which speak for themselves.
We spent the entire month of October, 2015 at our permanent home in south Florida. As is our custom, MaryLou and I walked out into our local Wounded Wetlands well before sunrise to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and experience the wonder as nature raised the curtrain on a new day.
Photography is almost impossible in the first light of dawn, but the camera does pierce the gloom to some degree. We could barely see these four female White-tailed Deer, yet I felt that their placement and their forms were more important than the missing details, so I processed this photo as an oil painting with large brush strokes (click on photo to see texture):
Sunrises sometimes provided a full color palette:
No hurricanes threatened, but a buttermilk sky portended a change in weather:
Although it is an abundant winter visitor, morning light added uncommon beauty to a Palm Warbler and ripening Brazilian Pepper berries:
Other fall migrants had arrived. Among them, Yellow-throated Warbler...
...American Redstart...
...Black-throated Green Warbler...
...Northern Parula...
...Ovenbird...
...Black-throated Blue Warbler:
Yet, not to be overlooked was the beauty of our common permanent residents, such as this female Northern Flicker...
...a stately Great Blue Heron...
...a demure White-winged Dove...
...and a Blue Jay enjoying a bountiful acorn harvest...
...shared with a Gray Squirrel:
Among the butterflies, a Long-tailed Skipper:
How long had this Bobcat been staring at me from the side of the trail?
The flower of the month was a wild white Water Lily:
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
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
Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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We just returned from a two week stay in northeastern Illinois. Surprisingly, we had a spell of hot weather with some temperatures higher than those back home in south Florida.
Although we were busy with volleyball games and preparations for a charity gala with 100 guests at our daughter's home, we found time to get out and walk in the nearby parks and forest preserves. We saw many more warblers than we were able to identify, as they tended to forage high in the trees against the very bright sky.
At Les Arends Forest Preserve in their home town of Batavia, we encountered a mixed flock which included American Redstarts. I was only able to get a decent photo of a female:
There were quite a few Bay-breasted and Blackpoll Warblers, which are quite similar in their dull fall plumage.
The Blackpoll shows some streaking of its underparts and has a more greenish cast to its head and neck, so this most likely is one here:
Bay-breasted Warbler? It should have dark legs but these appear to be light as in Blackpoll:
This is a dull female Chestnut-sided Warbler:
Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove has very nice walking trails and a wooden bridge over Blackberry Creek, where Mary Lou is looking at a goldfinch:
A Wilson's Warbler brightened our morning:
We saw migrating Swainson's Thrushes...
...and a pair of Red-eyed Vireos:
A favorite spot is Nelson Lake/Dick Young Marsh Kane County Forest Preserve:
I caught sight of an early migratory Red-breasted Nuthatch, but had to wait a few days before getting one of these little acrobats in my camera viewfinder. It was foraging in this grand oak:
The male American Goldfinches were in various stages of molting into their somber winter coats:
A Mourning Dove struck a nice pose:
A Cedar Waxwing had a regal appearance:
Canada Geese were numerous...
...as were butterflies, including this Pearl Crescent...
...a Red-spotted Purple...
...a Cabbage White...
...and many beautiful Monarchs:
Colorful Milkweed Bugs clustered on the pods of their favorite plant, also host to the Monarch caterpillar:
A view of the upper reaches of the marsh at Nelson Lake is framed by tree branches:
Back home at our daughter's house, their oldest and youngest pets rested on their patio. Tibetan Mastiff Agramonte is eleven years old and Standard Poodle Cazador is 6 months of age:
In their back yard, a Silver-spotted Skipper visited a Rose of Sharon:
Upon returning to Florida, I captured this iPhone panorama of the western sky opposite the rising sun (click on image for full view):
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
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
Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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