First Frost

All is calm; stars are bright.

Not a cricket is stirring, but I did hear a mouse.

And Orion is prowling and waiting to pounce.

We went down to the boat launch at sunset last night and saw an amazing number of birds. I turned in a count of 1500 Red-winged Blackbirds, but I suspect the flock was more like 3000. Video shows just a tiny fraction of them, but I wanted you to hear them.

Couple hundred Canada Geese. Skein upon skein dumping air and tumbling onto the river. Layered flocks heading for the cornfields. Strays and small vees honking frantically for family. Geese everywhere around us.....hundreds more probably than we counted. One Common Merganser. Numbers were increasing as the light went dim, but we needed to get home so I could fix supper, we could bring the dogs in, and pick the last bouquet of nasturtiums of the year to grace the kitchen.....while their counterparts melted like clay left out in the rain.



Welcome to true autumn.