October 12 through December 7, 2019

I have been uploading photos to flickr over the past two months and had intended to write a post before now.



Since I put the flickr address into my blog post to avoid running out of storage space, I usually write a post as soon as I have the photos ready to embed.



The problem with doing it this way is I have so many shots ready to embed it will probably be an insanely long post.



One way I know I've been blogging a long time is I started with picsa as a place to host embedded photos and then used photobucket and finally landed on flickr. Dogwoods are usually the first trees that go to full color in my neck of the woods.



This was an odd fall in that trees that change colors later, were not only later than usual they reached full color very fast after the change started and then dropped fast.



I'm still in the October shots but that was very noticeable with the oaks which will be towards the end of this post.



This buck was in a neighbor's yard and I thought he was a statue at first. Definitely wasn't scared of me.



Weather was all over the place this fall. That's not unusual but to have lows in the 20s (Fahrenheit) one night and within about 3 days to have a high close to 90 (Fahrenheit) was bizarre.



The maples were gorgeous as usual this year but short lived color.



Below the oak tree was beginning to change colors and I loved how it bled into the maples.



The down sided with so many shots since my last post is it's difficult to choose.



I was happy when the water birds showed up at Shelly Lake. The commentary doesn't fit the shots because I'm waiting until later in the post to use shots from the lake.



I liked the way the jeep and mailbox matched the fall colors below.



The hawk below chose the most precarious limb for a perch which reminded me of how the largest people sometimes land on the most fragile chairs. I'm quite large at this point in my life but I'm leery of delicate chairs.



I can always tell when the hawk is in my trees because the other birds don't use the birdbath until her or she is gone.



At this point I'm skipping more shots that I uploaded than I'm using.



I only went on one walk at Shelly lake when I didn't see any water birds but it was a first for me so I was relieved when they showed up again by the next walk.



The cormorants always leave in the spring and return in the fall as do the gulls.



There are other water birds at the lake year round (ducks, geese, heron and egrets).



They shift to different parts of the lake depending on the time of the year.



In the early spring I don't see as many water birds but I hear them warning me away from their nesting area.



I haven't seen the bald eagles since early summer so glad to spot this one on a recent walk.



I love reflections and particularly when there are clouds along with a blue sky.



Hard to pick which reflections to use.



At this point I'm running out of words so I'm looking for a logical place to stop.



Nice having beautiful walking days during my Thanksgiving holiday.



The last two shots aren't particularly good but I took them today and was pleased that the birds seemed happy I raked the leaves on the deck as well as removed them from the bird baths.



The American Robin was as happy about the berries I uncovered as well as having a clean bath waiting.

September through October 6, 2019

Thank you to Lissa who blogs at the memory of rain for my header. I have enjoyed her art and writing for many years and greatly appreciated her giveaway during a blog anniversary.

I had a choice of options and said that I thought a badge or header would be great and mentioned that I change my header for each season.

I didn't mean to ask for 4 badges or headers but she kindly did that so I thought I'd start with the one for fall.

I'm sort of jumping the gun since my part of North Carolina won't hit the colors like the ones in the header for another month but I'm so ready for it.

She used one of my fall photos for the header design and at first I didn't even realize it was one of my shots until I noticed it was my neighborhood lake and I know Lissa is in Manhattan. Thanks to Lissa for designing this and ones for other seasons!

I noticed how the trees have stayed so fresh during this summer that the September shots I took looked more like June.

The reason is we had a lot of rain during the summer months although lately it has been dryer.

The worse part of this summer didn't start until October or maybe it was just noticeable because it wasn't seasonable.

Last week broke records all over the place with one day hitting 100 F (37.7 C). 

It's not unusual to have some hot days well into the fall but that's nuts.

Fortunately we finally are going back to more seasonable temperatures.

I wasn't sure how much more I could take of the heat.

I think the snake above may be a copperhead but I'm not sure. I definitely kept my distance.

I have gotten used to foxes on my deck and actually enjoy having them visit but the one above seemed larger than a fox.

The flicker and finch weren't as close to each other as it looks like they are in the shot above.

I usually only see the flickers on my deck when it snows but I guess it needed the water I supply.

I didn't realize chipmunks were as small as the one above. I photographed one a few months ago and thought it was a baby but if it's the same one it hasn't grow any.

I enjoy the fairy asters that always bloom in my yard at the end of the summer to early fall.

I am running out of things to say so I must have selected too many shots.

I have enjoyed seeing early signs of fall that have happened even when the heat made it feel more like summer.

I had trouble getting a good angle on the egret.

The last shot is one I liked because of the reflection.