Things are winding down now in our garden and this is when most of the hard work begins. There are still a few flowers about, although most of the plants and shrubs have been trimmed, thinned or eliminated altogether depending on how well they’ve done this year.
The rabbits have stuffed themselves to bursting point on whatever they could get hold of, including the bird seed and my best lilies.
The birds are on the move and making their way south so we are seeing some different species from the usual sparrows. This one showed up last week. It was fairly small with a distinctive yellow rump. Not sure what it is so if anyone has any ideas I’d be happy to hear from you.
The cosmos and marigold flowers are particularly colorful right now and are attracting the last few butterflies. There are still a lot of bees buzzing about too, which leads me to an ideal opportunity to give my grandson’s podcast God of Honeybees a plug. The latest episode is about the study of consciousness. Interesting stuff so I hope you’ll give it a listen.
Lovely photos, Sue.
Thanks, Tracy!
You’re welcome, Sue.
Beautiful fall colors in your garden. 🧡🌼
Thanks, Amy! It’s nice to know we can count on these last few flowers to give the garden some color.
First mild frost here this morning. Our temps have been so low and it’s so clear that all of the heat from the day time sun just disappears as soon as it gets dark. Our wildlife is working extra hard to prepare as well!
Oh no! That dreaded first frost! We’ve come very close but I’m sure it won’t be long before we see the same.
Guessing on the bird: warbler or finch? Lesser goldfinch? Stripes are different, tho.
Thanks, Scilla! I looked it up in one of my bird books but couldn’t seem to pin it down as any one particular bird.
I believe it is gold finch!
I thought that too, at first, but we do get a lot of those in the garden and this had just a slightly different look to it.
Yes, Sue, I noticed it. The gold finch has the gold color in the upper body, I think.
You have lovely flowers and birds and butterflies and bees and rabbits in your garden, Sue! I have some of those flowers in my garden. The snapdragons were gone early in the summer. The Monarch butterflies are only passing by. I’m growing more flowers that attract them. You caught big bumble bees, nice job!
I still have doves, house finches, and sparrows around. They’ll be gone soon.
Thanks, Miriam! Yes, it’s sad to see everything die down or move on, over the winter, but they’ll all be back next year. It’s good to grow things that attract the butterflies and bees.
I know, Sue. The gardening guide recommends flowering plants for different reasons but I’m okay without too many flowers in winter.
Hi Sue I think your bird is a Palm Warbler, after a bit of google searching I came up with this https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/palm-warbler#photo4
That’s it! Thank you so much! He or should I say they (there were a pair of them) didn’t stay long. Just poked about in the grass for while and then took off.
You’re living dangerously, getting close enough to snap a photo of the Bee.
The bees don’t worry me so much. It’s the wasps that you have to watch out for, especially at this time of year.
Beautiful photos of all the flowers. Hope the frosts stay away so you can enjoy them for a long time yet. Your grandson has a very mellifluous voice!
Thank you, Marianne! I love to listen to my grandson talking. It reflects his whole personality. Very calm, thoughtful and caring.
I love how sharp and clear your images are and the look on the birds face is wonderful.
Thank you, Wendy! And thank you so much for visiting.
Wonderful photos Sue 🙂
Thank you!