Letters to Pop: 23 September 2014 - Autumnal Equinox, the Golden Time

I feel like I am back in school writing an essay (or in this case, a photo essay) on how I spent the first day of fall. The air is beginning to get crisp. Not like the October crisp, but that beginning of a fresher snap in the air. And evenings are full with the cricket chorus. Every now and then a cricket will hang out by a window. Even a single cricket chirp can reverberate through the house.

I had errands to run today so I took my camera along to see if I could capture a sense of the first day of autumn.

Before I even got in the car, right in front of me was my mountain with its changing colors. The mist burned off quickly leaving us with a hot day--upper 80s in the valley.

A few leaves in the neighborhood are starting to turn. Found some floating on the dregs of my pond. This is a poplar leaf, complete with damselfly.

The next thing I saw that truly said fall was a seeing a young deer in my back yard. Not an adult, no longer a fawn, but old enough to already be eating its way across lawn. Here it is enjoying some orange zinnias. Guess it is time to get the deer repel out and spray it on anything I want to keep. I usually get a respite from deer in July and August. They're baack!

Since I was out on the west side of the valley making an ink run, I thought I'd stop by Lee Kay Ponds then take the access road to the marina.

Lee Kay was very quiet, birdwise. There was a very large raft of gulls and a small flock of pelicans. I adore pelicans. They are the ballet company of the bird world, and today they were on stage. They tend toward unison. Line up and swim. Circle around then all go head down-tails up at the same time. Almost as though the commands are telepathically conveyed. Cracks me up every time I witness the dance.

The audience (critics?) for the performance watched from an island close by. Not sure if the big guy is laughing or shouting out instructions.

Or maybe they are getting their tutus ready for the next performance.

I left Lee Kay and headed for the access road, which at this time of year becomes what I call Raptor Road. I wasn't disappointed.

My guess is these are siblings--juvie red tails? One on the phone line and the other not too far away on the ground.

Not sure, but this might be a parent of the two above. Or not. I am quite out of practice.

This should be a kestrel.

And this is most likely a harrier.

These were all within a mile of each other. There was also another very large raptor circling high overhead. Too high to get any kind of detail.

Taking no notice of the hawk situation, a pronghorn was busy chewing cud.

I thought I would see some ducks or wading birds, but there were very few. A couple black-necked stilts, avocets and a single Lesser Yellowlegs.

The pickle weed is starting to turn orange and red. Sunflowers and rabbitbrush are glowing yellow along the road.

The gold of poplars and rabbitbrush are known to stop artists in their tracks. Many Utah painters have golden leaved trees and shrubs in their landscape oeuvre.

First day of fall not withstanding, it has been quietly happening all along.

Meanwhile, out at the marina a few hardy souls were camping. It isn't the most appealing place, just a cleared out spot covered with gravel on the side of the parking lot. Not my idea of fun. But this guy was happily baking in the sun.