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The golden hour of summer

9/23/2021

As the seasons moved on, the calendar reached the first day of fall. It seemed as though summer was in its golden hour.

"The last hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise are coveted by professional photographers. Referred to as 'the golden hour' or 'magic hour,' these times provide the perfect light to capture stunning photos," said a post on www.adobe.com titled "When is golden hour & how to take pictures during it."

It definitely felt like the sun was setting on summer.

Goldenrod provided a warm golden hue to the end of the season. Many of the plants' early yellow blooms were already past.

A yellow garden spider was a lovely addition to the goldenrod.

"These spiders produce venom that is harmless to humans, but helps to immobilize prey like flies, bees, and other flying insects that are caught in the web. The web of the garden spider contains a highly visible zigzagging X-shaped pattern called a stabilimentum. The exact function of the stabilimentum is unknown...," said a post about the spider on the National Wildlife Federation's website.

"A male seeks out a female and courts her by plucking at her web ... Females usually die in the first hard frost after mating. If temperatures prevent this, females may live several years, but males usually die after mating," the post added.

Wild asters of several varieties also added a festive look to what may have been summer's last hurrah.
They seemed to be everywhere. Wood asters, New England asters, calico asters and more displayed their showy blossoms.

The flowers were covered with bumblebees sporting pollen laden legs. Lately it seems every bumblebee I have seen has been flying around with fat golden legs.

Meanwhile back in the garden, the sunflowers were done for the season.

Nonetheless, the morning glories took over the wilting sunflower stalks to display their brilliant colors in the morning sun.

As some of the summer blooms fade, I have added some chrysanthemums.

The Mexican sunflowers or tithonia rotundifolia were still going strong. Their blossoms attracted passing monarchs. There has been a steady stream of the orange and gold visitors at about one or two a day.
Last Saturday I spotted a hummingbird flitting around, but the feeders remained empty of the flying jewels. Most of them have headed south already.

Meanwhile, the trees had started to add some color to the woodlands.
The black gum tree was the first to provide a little red color.

It also supplied fruit for migrating birds.

Over previous years the trees have attracted cedar waxwings and robins. This year I was afraid I had missed the cedar waxwings as a Facebook memory popped up with photos of them and I hadn't seen and in person this year.
However, they were pretty much right on cue and showed up one day last week. Sadly their numbers seemed to be down from the flocks I had observed in years past.

The gum trees weren't the only ones dropping food.

Acorns were falling and the goats kept trying to take an illegal detour into my parents' front yard to visit their oak tree. However, while other trees in the woods were dropping acorns, the one in my parents yard was not.
This was Kyle and Kennedy's effort in futility for the season.

Meanwhile the trail cameras had been full of activity.
Captured were squirrels, coyotes, foxes, deer and more preparing for fall.

One nosy doe kept taking selfies.

The deer have shed their golden brown coats for their winter grey fur.
Some of the neighborhood herd watched as Sherman tried to track them without bothering to look up.

The fawns were starting to lose their spots.

The bucks have lost all their velvet exposing their antlers for the season.

Clem and Sadie were busy chipmunk hunting. They have not been successful despite their dirt-caked snouts.

Sadie's frog hunting has also been an effort in futility.

Below is a slideshow of more of the colors of late summer.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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A day in the life of a humidity hater

9/17/2021

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I woke up from a decent night's sleep in a climate controlled abode and glanced at the thermometer. The outside thermometer read 65 degrees. I was delighted for a cool morning walk with the critters.

While not being an often coveted work schedule, evening shift has afforded me the opportunity to walk the gang in slightly cooler temperatures.

However, my delight quickly turned to dread as I glanced onto the side porch.

There it was. Condensation on the sliding glass doors. Despite the cool temperature, the dreaded humidity had moved in.

Nonetheless, the critters and I set out anyway.

Fifteen minutes into the usually hour-long walk, I quickly regretted my outfit of choice which was a sweatshirt and jeans.

The middle of the woods was not a place where I could change my ensemble.

It always starts out like this on humid days.

There is a cool breeze and I am motivated.

However halfway through the walk, the sweat starts running.

I feel like a sweaty gym towel instead of a human being.

Nonetheless, the misty morning afforded the opportunity for some awesome pictures of the morning sun's rays as they filtered through the trees.

The shafts of light seemed to appear everywhere. When the sun would appear the scene was lit with a misty green.

However, as I stopped to take the photos, my glasses fogged over.

There is nothing like being all sweaty and not being able to see.

I sat for a moment to try to cool down.

Of course Sherman, who is heavily panting by this point, decided that it is never too hot and sticky for love. He sauntered over and gives me his fuzzy butt which is shedding. He wanted me to scratch off the excess fur.

The experience was like being tar and feathered, except it was with sweat and fur.

After a seemly long and sticky walk, we finally made it into the comfort of the air conditioning.

However that comfort was short lived, as I realized I soon would have to work in an unairconditioned shop that included the added heat of running machinery.

After a long and sweaty work evening, I expected to walk out into the darkness and into what

I thought would cooler air. It was no so. It was still a sticky balmy 73 degrees at midnight. This prompted a rush to the car to turn on the air and escape the humidity.

I desperately searched weather forecasts for some sign of relief.

The national weather service posted a forecast saying a "cold front" would move it.

However, it provided little optimism about a cool down when they put the term in parentheses.

I apologize to readers for the continued harping on this subject.

I'm hoping that my complaining will reach Mother Nature's ears and she will let up on the horrid humidity.

However, I feel she is not listening or has turned of the comments section.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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A little cuckoo over bird sighting

9/12/2021

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A few weeks ago, I spotted a different looking bird perched like a statue in the branches of the crabapple tree. It sat there patiently while I took several photos and didn't budge.

After I was sure I had some decent shots, I thanked the cooperative photo subject and left. It remained in the tree as if nothing new had happened.

I at first thought it was some sort of flycatcher, but searches on the internet pointed toward the black-billed cuckoo. However, most of the photos on the websites had the bird sporting a red eye-ring and the one I photographed had a yellow eye ring.

I turned to a birding Facebook page where one user said that it was indeed a black-billed cuckoo and that the yellow eyering was indicative of this year's hatchlings.

"Uncommon and elusive, the Black-billed Cuckoo skulks around densely wooded eastern forests and thickets," said a post on The Cornell Lab's www.allaboutbirds.org.
Venango County is in the cuckoo's summer breeding range.

"On the breeding grounds, this ardent caterpillar-eater makes quick work of tent caterpillars and webworms," the post continued.

I was thrilled when I read this and the statement could have explained why the cuckoo was in the crabapple tree.

Unfortunately, things aren't looking good for the black-billed cuckoo as a species.

"Black-billed cuckoos are uncommon and their populations declined by 68 percent since 1970, according to Partners in Flight.

The species is on the Yellow Watch List and has a Continental Concern Score of 13 out of 20.

The estimated global breeding population is 890,000. In 2016, Partners in Flight estimated that if current rates of decline continue, Black-billed Cuckoos will lose another half of their remaining population by 2055," according to www.allaboutbirds.org.

That kinda makes this sighting even more special for me. However, I would love it if I continued to spot them.

It was so nice to have a bird just sit there and let me move around to find a good shot.
Often by the time I raise the camera into position, the bird is gone.

The same is true when I see the goldfinches feeding on the sunflowers. All day through the windows, I watch them tear apart the blossoms to get the seeds. As soon as I step outside with a camera, everyone leaves. I try to hide in and around the sunflowers and manage to get a few shots here and there.

At the neighbor's pond I was able to capture a couple of photos of an Eastern phoebe.

I would love to catch the bird in action as it swoops over the pond to catch bugs.

However, it is enough of a challenge just to get a shot of it sitting still.

This common summer resident arrives mid-March and generally

departs by early November, according to local birder and author Gary Edwards in his book "Birds of Venango County."
Edwards also wrote, "The phoebe arrives earlier and remains later than the other flycatchers."

Additionally, I barely got a shot of an ovenbird with a caterpillar as a snack. The ovenbird is another common summer resident of Venango County that is getting ready to migrate soon.

Edwards listed its latest recorded departure date as October 9.

Meanwhile, the number of hummingbirds has dwindled to two. Even though there are two feeders for two hummingbirds, the fighting and chasing still occurs. The hummingbirds are also getting ready to migrate. No doubt a lot already have.
The Journey North website at journeynorth.org also tracks hummingbird migration.

"Fewer hours of daylight trigger hormonal changes that cause an urge to fuel up and fly south. Most hummingbirds that breed in the U.S. and Canada winter in Mexico and Central America. Recent studies also indicate that hummingbirds of a dozen different species spend winter in the US. along the Gulf coast and into Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas," the site posted.

A lot of other birds are also on the move. BirdCast offers migration forecast maps. It had forecast high migration activity for our area over Sept. 8-9.

Birds aren't the only one on the move.

The monarchs are in the midst of their yearly migration.
The Team Journey north at journeynorth.org posted an update on the orange butterflies on Sept. 8.

"Monarchs are on the move — flying, nectaring, and roosting. They are busy building fat reserves by drinking nectar along their migration pathways. These migration pathways occur in large urban centers such Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, and Atlanta as well as the mountains of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, the fields and prairies of southern Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, and along the coastlines of the Great Lakes, the Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico. Migration momentum is building," said a post on the site about the eastern migration.

It is a little sad to see the birds and the butterflies leave. However change is the only constant.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

Just one more

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Author

"The Nature of Things" features the writings and photographs of Anna Applegate, who is a lifelong resident of Pinegrove Township, Venango County. She is a graduate of Cranberry High School and Clarion University. After a 15-year career in the local news industry, she made a change and now works at a steel finishing plant in Sandycreek Township. She is a avid lover of animals and nature, and a gifted photographer.

Very happy to be able to share Anna's great "The Nature of Things" blog.

Check out Anna's other artwork here!

The golden hour of summer

A day in the life of a humidity hater

A little cuckoo over bird sighting

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