Day 274 - 30th September 2016 - Daylight, Foam and a Beaver

Well here we are at the end of another month. September good bye. A chilly morning, stars are all out in the sky but it's very quiet. No Owls or Loons calling.  My morning walks are mostly quiet these days, a few Chickadees and Song Sparrows and that's about it, although after supper the yard had a lovely flock of Chickadees - time to get the feeders filled again. Have been holding off as I'll then be pestered with raccoons. Living in the country means everything comes to visit. A good day at work, surprised that there are still tourists around. Every day we get at least a few international visitors and they are always amazed and appreciative of our history.

Daylight is slow coming

A little foam along the shoreline.

 Imagine my surprised when I found this Beaver having breakfast instead of birds.

He went all shy on me and then swam away.





Enjoy your day!

Day 273-29th September 2016 - Ferns and Deck Chairs

Good day at work, can't believe the season will soon be over. I guess the first thing on my "retirement" for the season list will be the fall cleaning. Hopefully the well will be full again by mid October. It's great to see the lakes and rivers rise but would really love to see the well come up too. Guess I've got to patiently wait for that water table.  Power was out during the night - always wakes me up when the digital clock goes black and then again when it comes back and is flashing. So not a very restful night - up at 4am, going to be a long day! Quiet in the hood these days, hardly a bird around. Soon time to put seeds in the feeders and bring in the hummingbird ones. No sign of them for a while, not even a stray passing through.

Soft color of fall.













But these bright deck chairs offer a punch of color on my walk.













The various ferns are finishing off for the season - some are yellow and orange.

Some have turned brown and are finished for another year.





Enjoy your day!

Day 272 - 28th September 2016 - Leaves, Swamp Sparrow and Berries

Back to work, days off are over. Looks like mostly a foggy day in the forecast. Had a good day home, puttered around, little housework, muffins made and meals prepped. Got out for my morning walk - pretty quiet these days - Chickadees, Hermit Thrush, Swamp Sparrow, Blue Jays and a whole lot of Grackles. Began raining around lunch time - nice continuous rain until after supper. I put a few more buckets out and they filled quickly, but am crossing my fingers that it begins to make it's way into the well. The dampness went right through the house so we broke down and made our first fire in the furnace. I was trying to hold off until the 1st of October, as it seems once you start it's a long haul of tending fires til spring.

Leaves are falling under the chairs of a neighbour's deck.

Swamp Sparrow
















A little fall color

 Fall berries.





Enjoy your day!

Day 271 - 27th September 2016 - A Side Trip to the Zoo

Well we had a good road trip on Monday. Glad I left extra early though - some road work being done but we still managed to get there an hour before our appointment, but it took all of that to get registered and an xray. All good news. We drove down the valley to Middleton on the way back, making a stop at Scotiagold and then Aylesford to the Oaklawn Zoo. So today you get zoo pics. Nothing exciting as it's hard to get good shots through the wire but we enjoyed walking around and seeing all the animals. I was surprised being a Monday in late September how many people were there.Off again today but guess I better dedicate most of my time to some housework and meal prep for this week. Am praying that for once those weather people are right and we will get rain most of the week.

Black Swan - Larry tried to convince me this could count as a lifer but I say no.













Lots of little Pgymy goats
















I like the big cats



























Love the Fascinator this bird is sporting.














If we had one of these- we'd have lots of nice big eggs!

And there were big goats too.







Enjoy your day!

Day 270 - 26th September 2016 - Brown Creeper, Golden Crown Kinglet and Sunrise

Up early but overslept  by 10 minutes - guess I didn't set the alarm right. I suppose it will go over at 4pm! Groan. Good thing I left plenty of travel time, so we won't be late for our appointment in Kentville. As much as I am a morning person, it begins after I've had my first cup of coffee. Beautiful start to the days - stars are all out, just a tad chilly. Big B is ready to roll just in case we find an hour to go birding. Although a little shopping wouldn't hurt either. The days are certainly getting cooler, might be good they we wear so many layer of clothes at work. Well it is this time of year anyway.

Up close - Brown Creeper
















He's become a pretty regular and friendly visitor on my jaunts.

Saw 3 Golden Crowned Kinglets, but none would stay still long enough for a really good shot!

Sunrise over a foggy lake.









Enjoy your day!

Da 269 - 26th September 2016 - Song Sparrow, Chestnut Sided Warbler and Red-Eyed Vireo

Definitely a change in the air these last few days -no doubt the seasons have changed. There will be  a frost some morning very soon.  We took a quick run to the Industrial Park Saturday morning before I went to work. Not disappointed considering I only had about 20 minutes - Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, Chestnut Side Warbler and Red Eyed Vireos.  Good day at work - number of visitors are dwindling  but I'm making progress on a project which I want to have finished before we close. Spent the evening with family and friends celebrating a birthday, good to laugh and have fun. Not a late evening. I'm off to work again this morning and it's Larry's turn to volunteer at our local Fire/Community Hall breakfast. Might just squeeze an hour out in the hood once daylight arrives.

Song Sparrow

















Common Yellowthroat















Chestnut Sided Warbler

















Red-Eyed Vireo





Enjoy your day!

Day 268 - 24th September 2016 - Mist, Sun and Reflections

 Another great day at work on Friday. Not a lot of people but those they came were lovely folks from all over the world! One lady from California told me she had been to Halifax on a cruise ship 3 years ago and knew she wanted to save her money and come back to spent as much time as she could in Nova Scotia and go where she wanted to. She and her friend were having the time of their life! A couple from Scotland had just retired and were traveling - they too were in love with our province. I never doubt that we are lucky to live in such a great place, especially this county. Quiet morning walk, fall is a great time to enjoy the fog rising off of the lake as the sun makes a lazy appearance. Not a lot of birds Friday, just a couple of Song Sparrows. Working again this weekend, then this evening we've got a couple of birthday gatherings to attend. Going to be a busy evening.

A good morning for reflections and a misty sunrise












Song Sparrow hiding in the branches.













It was beginning to roll out.

You could see the clouds reflected in the lake.











Enjoy your day!

Day 267 - 23rd Septembr 2016 - Sunlight, Blue Headed Vireo and Brown Creeper

Weather is cooler during the night and warms up in the day. Moon and stars are filling the sky this morning. The only thing I hear is a lone duck offering up a couple of "quacks" and one of the Donkeys next door. Like a broken record - I'll say it again - the only thing that would make it better would be rain. Had a nice walk in the hood yesterday morning and came across a small flock of birds - mostly Chickadees but also a Blue Headed Vireo and Brown Creeper. Seems even with the drought we are getting a little "fall" color but probably won't be as spectacular as what we are used to. The day was quieter at work - not so many visitors in, but I have lots to work on to pass the time. Hoping for a busy weekend.

A little morning sparkle

A misplaced Maple leaf?

Blue-headed Vireo in the morning sun

Brown Creeper - such a cool bird that blends in so well with tree bark.







Enjoy your day!

Day 266 - 22nd September 2016 - Sailboats, Great Blue Heron and Fog

Good Morning first day of Fall. Yup another season is rolling in. Air is feeling much cooler this morning, stars are all out, looks like a good day in the making. Of course the only thing that would make it better would be rain! A somewhat busy day at work on Wednesday. Still a number of tourists around, hope they keep coming and it stays like this til we close 15 October. I can't believe in about 3 weeks we will be finished for the season. It's been a great summer and time has just flown by.  I did get a little jaunt on Dock Street - it was pretty foggy so didn't take a lot of photos.Catching my regular ride this morning so will chase around the hood some.

Boats in the fog, along with our Shelburne Dory. Won' t be long and these will be brought in for the winter.

A Great Blue Heron fishing on the reef.

Looking up the harbour, can't even see the few houses there.







Enjoy your day!

Day 265 - 21st September 2016 - Rain Drops, Ferns and Ducks

Well back to work today. I'm on the early run with Larry this morning so will have time to take a roam  along the waterfront. The hood is pretty quiet these days as far as birds go. 
Good day at home, humidity is still up but the rain stopped - not that we want it too. A full week of rain might just make some difference although the river and lakes have risen some. Our well however, has not.  A friend of mine issued a challenge yesterday morning to do a good deed. I made up a big batch of Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes and gave them out to friends and neighbours.  That's a win win for me - I get to bake and a number of people got some treats. Since Larry no longer eats sweets, my rule is that when I get the urge to bake I have to give it away so it's not tempting him at home. It's been so long without rain that I had forgotten how good the woods smells - fresh but musky. Hoping the rain brings out some interesting fungi in the forest.

Everything was dripping in the hood.

The ducks were pretty feisty - must have been the extra water in the lake.

The lake has definitely come up some.












Colors are changing - a lot of the big ferns are turning yellow and gold. Soon to be gone for another season.





Enjoy your day!

Day 264 - 20th September 2016 - Canada Geese and Yellow Rumped Warbler

Waking to more rain this morning, not coming down as hard as yesterday but it sounds and feels good just the same and it's a constant rain. We've had more in the last 24 hours than we've had in the last 3 months. The lake came up yesterday so fingers crossed it will continue along with the wells. So my internet is totally wonky - can't get photos to post so it is what it is today! As I always say - some days are better than others. Off again today so some more things to get done around here.
Good day yesterday at home - beat the dust down to a dull roar, did a little cooking more to do today for the rest of the week. Even made it to exercise class last night - first time in 2 1/2 months and my knee isn't screaming at me this morning, although the rib I hurt earlier this summer may not be happy! But it's all good.

The Geese returned a few days ago, like to think it's William & Kate with some of their children and grandchildren. Maybe they brought the rain.











And this is why they are called Yellow Rumped Warblers







Enjoy your day!

Day 263 - 19th September 2016 - Whirligigs and a Yellow Rumped Warbler

Up way too early on my day off but the music of rain on the roof top must have awaken me.  It's been raining over an hour now and a small dish on the deck tells me about 1/2 inch or more. Might be able to get one of my "deck showers" in before daylight comes. There was a flash of lightening and thunder about 4 am but that passed quickly. Larry checked our water level in the well yesterday and it had dropped again so fingers crossed this may help a little bit. No great plans for today except the norm of roaming the hood, housework and cooking for lunches and the rest of the week. Such an exciting life we lead but sometimes boring is good.
Another good day at work, we so enjoy the visitors who come through. It was the last day of the Whirligig Festival so I I snapped a few shots on my lunch hour. Took a run to the Industrial Park before work, but the birds were jittery in the wind - not coming out of the branches for good shots. Chickadees, Yellow Rumped Warblers, Northern Parulas and Common Yellowthroats.

Yellow Rumped Warbler





Enjoy your day!

Day 262 - 18th September 2016 - Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Rumped Warbler and Whirligigs

Overcast and cloudy  - no stars this morning. Can hear a few Canada Geese going down the lake. A few showers in the forecast for today and tonight. Probably just enough to wet the brown grass and make the weeds grow. Might get enough to fill some buckets from the eaves of the house. Off to work again today - might take a run to the Industrial Park again first.
Seemed like a lot of people around Saturday for the Whirligig Festival. We had a number of people in for tours - tourist from all over. Lots of people roaming Dock Street. Lazy evening at home and an early night. A Hummingbird appeared at the feeder after supper, a few may be drifting through on the migration. Skipped my chance for the Least Bittern and went to the Industrial Park instead, mostly Chickadees, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Rumped Warblers and Northern Parulas.

Common Yellowthroat














Yellow Rumped Warbler















A few shots from the Whirligig Festival.

Enjoy your day!