Sunday, October 21, 2007

soon they will be gone




It's only a matter of a few weeks, and these autumn leaves will be down. The remaining green leaves will be changing within another week or so at this latitude. And along with them, the final weeks of passage of warblers, thrushes, and vireos, with many raptors, some late shorebirds, and some waterfowl along with them. Of course there are many bird species still to come through this area, including the later sparrows, loons, and the remaining raptors and waterfowl. These latter groups are still migrating through well into November. And then the landscape takes on more subtle tones. Each day in the flow of autumn's time has its gifts to offer. And each day the air seems slightly different, though recent autumns seem to hold more warm days, and some migrants delay leaving longer than they did in the past. These are not "good" changes, but we are bound to witness them, now. Along with the changing angle of the sunlight, autumn's progress continues inexorably here. I could "feel it" in the night sky, too, with Orion now prominent above, and an October wind blowing.

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