There was a strange soft fluttering in the tree, like delicate lace waved by a fairy. My imagination runs rampant in early morning mist and in the time before coffee. 
The real thing is magical. 
Perhaps it was a fairy, there is no sign of the spinner of such fine thread nor the lace maker of this scalloped wonder.
The 13th of September, we noticed something a bit odd, a female hummingbird perched on a chair outside the kitchen door and later I saw this one. It was if she was saying farewell, rather than just waiting to have a drink. Mystery. How do they know how long to stay? Where will this bird go?
It is always a bit sad when they leave. So tiny to leave such large emptiness behind.
And then… the notice came… Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology has a new bird cam on-line… migrating hummingbirds!
Here in the East, we have only the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. This cam is located in a remote research site along the known hummingbird migration path and a dozen species can be seen at the feeders!
If these magnificent small wonders interest you, have a look.
June, 2008
Through the kitchen door, I saw this strange “fox”. Neither grey or red, I wondered if they cross bred. A chance conversation last weekend had me search for the photo I had taken. Coyote? I think so. There have been sightings just a few miles from here in recent years.
A short on-line research indicates that the resident groundhog is in jeopardy if he returns. Perhaps I will plant a garden next year.
Mornings are dark and rainy ones are especially so. It’s time for lighting candles in the early hours. The rains, storm driven, arrive daily. But in the showery time, I stepped outside the door, camera tucked under sweater, to be and to see.
Seed Pods of the Hardy Begonia.
A few years ago, my sister gifted me with a plant. Survival was a challenge as the deer immediately discovered this new delicacy. Somehow, it survived and bloomed and scattered seeds. Last year I moved it farther into the shade and most of the plants survived and thrived in spite of occasional deer visits. I featured the lovely blooms of the Hardy Begonia in the September photo.
Then 
Today 
Behind the scenes 
the brilliant veins are visible.
But it is those tricorn seed pods which hold my attention now. Will the scattering seeds survive and thrive to continue populating this stretch of wild garden? We will have to wait till next mid-summer.
It was long weeks of hot and dry until today. I set myself to finish some tidying here and there and was surprised to find a turtle. Neither of us could remember the last time we spied one here.
Today was a dark day of waiting till the afternoon hours seemed to finally press open the clouds and the bursting drenched the area with close to 3 inches of rain. And as the hours grew dark everyone needed to be vigilant for high water and flash flooding.
Well, I only missed one day outside. That one was spent sleeping and recovering from what I can most gratefully refer to as – a minor accident in my home.
Out and about, the countryside views have been glorious. I’m blessed to enjoy the flowers in our yard. The child size statuary in a country town has been adorned by a red knitted cap. Fun! I’ve been thinking about the gate. It has a story it wants to tell; perhaps I can listen well and write it in the days ahead.
August went by so quickly this year. My decision to go outside every day and observe was a good one and I plan to continue into my favorite month, September. I’m looking forward to what will be offered to me and I encourage you to look about and truly see the things that might be just outside your own backdoor.
One day, it was just so hard to go outside. I only ventured out to tend a pot of marigolds.
Another day, I spent lovely early morning time with some stitching while I enjoyed the rising cicada song. The stitching has been a long project and like my decision to go outside each day, I must be determined to finish – soon, I hope!
Through the years I have sometimes been blessed to visit the ocean. I love to go and wander the beach in search of treasure. I enjoy having jars and boxes and piles of shells out in the summer and this one has been particularly intriguing to me this year. Sometimes I have it on the kitchen table, other times it is on this one outside the door.
The early light playing on the worn beauty of it draws me to look closer – the tiniest of stones are stuck tightly into the spiral – and then I find I’m out the door! Yesterday, that meant going out and while looking about, finding that rain had washed the trees of more unneeded limbs that had to be cleared from the lawn. After that, the weeds called; I was glad when evening came!
More August offerings of beauty:
It was surprising to go to the door and find the magnolia leaves thinking of autumn.
I remember learning how important August rain is for the formation of fruit bud wood for the following year. So, if August is dry, I begin to pray for rain for our region. Yesterday, I was delighted to wake to rain. We had intermittent showers throughout the entire day which at times were so intense as to prompt flash flood warnings. Last evening there were traffic reports of unusual and serious road flooding in the next county requiring rescue operations. Blessing and danger. And a caramel colored sky at sunset.
My growing up home sat at the top of our hilly street. I loved to sit on the porch during summer storms and watch the lightening etch the western sky. Swathed in a beach towel against any blowing rain and cushioned on our old chaise lounge, I had a wonderful seat for nighttime sky drama.
More August photo exploration, mostly in my own backyard.
Our phone/internet was down for four days. A gift of quieting the house. I did, however, have adventuring to do. One event even got a sidetrack to the neighborhood where I grew up.
Everything changes, of course. I’m always interested in the revitalization of the old communities of the city. My parents moved the family to the home I remember about 1950. That street is about at the horizon point in this photo – 2 long blocks. Times beyond counting, I walked down this street, to school, to church, to shop, to catch the streetcar and then the bus. (New water lines and paving in process)
The tall hedge ends the block in a funny point and a Catalpa tree grows there – it always has. No doubt age and weather have taken their toll but the tree, while severely pruned, still flourishes. Those are countless seed pods hanging down among the heart shaped leaves.
We would cross the street and continue the walk down 4 more long blocks before crossing the main street and then uphill one short block to my favorite place. 
No, it doesn’t look like much today in its reconstruction, but then, it was a place of wonders. The Public Library. I read that this branch opened in 1920, a gift from Andrew Carnegie, and by 1950 was already too small for the community it served. But, for me, it opened doors to worlds. It was the place where I met so many new friends! The Five Chinese Brothers, Beany Malone, Cherry Ames and so many other characters and their communities of friends.
Oh what a joy when the new library was located just across the street from the Catalpa tree! Only two blocks away and an easy stop on the way home from most anywhere! Don’t let the ugly façade fool you, even more wonders were waiting inside!
In those long ago days, libraries were closed on Sundays and when nothing else was planned, and all the books were read, we could sometimes persuade Dad to take a Sunday afternoon drive. Frequently, it would be in the country side I now call home, but sometimes, it would be through Loch Raven, which you may recognize as one of my very special places.
The Drive is closed to motorists on weekends these days and there are not many places to stop. One can no longer walk out on the overlook at the edge of the dam and feed the carp who live in the lake, but, it still is my weekday peaceful adventuring place. I am grateful for the blessing of long connection.
I’m ever mindful of the privilege of living in the country and being able to reflect back on nature’s changes on this piece of land we call home as well as being able to roam the back roads of this beautiful state.
These reflect the last few days of adventuring near and farther:
Catching up post: 5th-10th
The rather ominous looking creature seems to be a fly of the tachinid type. They eat aphids and thrips and their larvae are parasitic on other pests. In seeking to identify it, I found an amazing number of flies that look like other things – bees and wasps, for example. Close up photos make them look very much like science fiction characters or rather, the characters seem to be modeled after flies!