Some of the remnants of autumn staunchly stood their ground, while others lay intertwined just below the surface of the winter ice.
“Winter, come rest your soul on autumn’s weary head. Twirl, shimmer, soften before tucking fall to bed.” ~Angie Weiland-Crosby
The trees and animals weren’t the only ones with icy feet, but we still enjoyed walking around and seeing the frozen lake and cypress trees during the latest arctic blast.
“January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow.” ~Sara Coleridge
The Sandhill cranes have once again returned to a small nearby refuge. The refuge is closed to the public at this time of year, but if you drive around the surrounding land, you can often see flocks flying in the sky or eating waste corn and insects from the harvested corn fields. The cranes have been making their way back to these same farm fields for many years. What a joy to see and hear them as they winter at this stopover place.
This fond attachment to the well-known place
Whence first we started into life’s long race,
Maintains its hold with such unfailing sway,
We feel it e’en in age, and at our latest day.
~William Cowper
The ruby-throated hummingbirds have packed up and headed south in search of warmer temperatures and more plentiful food. Thankfully, fond memories of them linger as we count down the days until their return in the spring.
“Fond memory brings the light of other days around me.” ~Thomas More
Such a beautiful autumn day at the lake. The reflections in the still water continued to impress as the day slowly faded into darkness.
“Swept into nature’s calm, the soul stills as clouds move on.” ~Angie Weiland-Crosby
Even after summer is gone and the plants have dried out and turned various shades of brown, the stems, with their numerous shapes and sizes of seed heads, add beauty and character to the landscape.
“For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.” ~Edwin Way Teale
This past week, the sunsets were magnificent in the November sky. What a treat to see the beauty that our Creator planned for each new day.
“Art gallery? Who needs it? Look up at the swirling silver-lined clouds in the magnificent blue sky or at the silently blazing stars at midnight. How could indoor art be anymore masterfully created than God’s museum of nature?” ~ Grey Livingston
“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” ~Christopher McCandless
“I find it incredibly amazing how at every sunset, the sky is a different shade. No cloud is ever in the same place. Each day is a new masterpiece. A new wonder. A new memory.” ~Sanober Khan
“The sunsets are mad orange fools raging in the gloom.” ~Jack Kerouac
It was November – the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines.” ~Lucy Maud Montgomery
“Peering from some high window, at the gold of November sunset and feeling that if day has to become night, this is a beautiful way.” ~E. E. Cummings
“They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.” ~Psalms 65:8
With the arrival of cooler autumn weather, the familiar chirps, rattles, ticks, clicks and buzzes of the insects have grown quiet. For some, the sound lacked harmony, but for others, it struck a peaceful chord.
“Music is in all growing things;
And underneath the silky wings
Of smallest insects there is stirred
A pulse of air that must be heard;
Earth’s silence lives, and throbs, and sings.”
~George Parsons Lathrop
One of the types of spiders commonly seen around the lake are the funnel weavers. Their webs remind me of tiny kingdoms spread out among the vegetation. The spiders use silk to construct sheet-like webs in which to capture insects. The webs have a narrow funnel-shaped “retreat” where the spider hides out, sometimes camouflaged by leaves and other natural debris. They then rush out when an insect lands on the web, and use their venom to subdue the insect before dragging it back to their retreat.
Here are a few photos of funnel weavers and their webs.
Recently I spotted a funnel weaver, perhaps a male, climbing down a web. Male funnel weavers will cautiously approach a female so as not to become her next meal. A female, which had been sitting in the retreat, came out to check out the situation.
“A little kingdom I possess, where thoughts and feelings dwell; And very hard the task I find of governing it well.” ~Louisa May Alcott
I spotted a group of white pelicans swimming not far from the shore, and found a flat rock near the water’s edge to sit and watch the graceful swimmers. They seemed to glide effortlessly in the water.
I was impressed by one expert fisher as it shimmied along the surface of the lake, using its beak and the gular pouch attached to its jaw to catch and scoop up food like a net. Then it tilted its head down to drain the water from the pouch, and back to swallow the catch.
Another pelican, abruptly disturbed from its afternoon nap where it huddled on a crowded log, let out a lazy yawn.
I enjoyed watching the pelicans play a game of “tag” as one circled around a log lined with other pelicans. The pelican that was tagged was obliged to find a new spot to sit, and didn’t appear too happy about it. Instead of making noise, the pelicans communicated through wing flapping and bill snapping.
Watching these lovely birds was relaxing, fascinating, and entertaining, all at the same time.
“There is a way that nature speaks … Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.” ~Linda Hogan
walking on a country road 