October days often emerge with fog in the valleys and over the lakes that sometimes doesn't burn off until mid-morning. It's interesting to see what emerges from the fog as it lifts. This week it has been wood ducks.
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| A pair of wood ducks in the morning fog. |
As the day brightens more and more of them materialize.
Each day this week I've seen at least half a dozen on the lake.
The loons paddle around in the fog as well, both the two juveniles as well as adults. This adult was probably stopping by Wicwas for a visit or a rest stop on its way to the ocean.
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| A mature loon part way through its molt. |
I have to look carefully to tell adults and juveniles apart now. It's possible both of our nesting adults have left the lake as I haven't seen LuLu and Checkers with either parent this week, though it doesn't mean they won't return for visit to check on the kids. The young ones are very quiet now - no whining and nagging for food when they're on their own.
I found the hobble bush viburnum to be especially interesting this foliage season, transitioning through a sequence of colors from green to red to a deep burgundy.
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| Hobblebush viburnum on October 13th. |
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| And six days later. |
They do this even as they are putting out new growth from the end of their stems.
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| New growth just emerging. |
I'm afraid today's wind is going to bring an end to the best of the foliage for this year. The oaks will hang on to their leaves for another couple of weeks, but the red, yellow, and orange maples will probably sacrifice most of their leaves to the forest.
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| A calm morning after the fog. |
Damp mornings bring out the bright colors of the leaves that have left their homes and found their way to their final resting place, ready to start the process of giving themselves back to the forest floor to sustain new life as they decompose.
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| Two different beings pursue their piscium prey below the rising fog. |
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