The golden hour of summer

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."
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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.
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"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.
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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.