Did not know he'd had such a long career - and Willie Nelson, beardless, in a tie? WOW :) Great shots, Tom, the rhythms of the seasons can be ours again...
We were just noticing this morning how the hummingbirds were getting particularly territorial over the feeder, yet paradoxically are not fighting too hard to protect it. We figure they must be bulking up for their migration.
Last night a group of us were discussing how there is less than a week to the full moon, and after that the possibility of frost. Time is passing indeed.
You wonder, watching every other species going through some kind of transition, what it is we humans do that an outside observer would find strange? I have noticed a tendency among writers to go for the elegiac tone ...
I often wonder what our cats make of us before we go on a trip -- suitcases and phone calls and an air of something happening imminently. I'm pretty sure they know something's up -- they change, too, in reaction -- but of course they can't see the plane or the heather fields or the lattes in front of the Eiffel Tower. It must all seem strange to them.
A beautiful sentiment and wonderful photos! I'm particularly enjoying your beautiful scenes since our Texas summer has been so brutal. I like the reminder that the changing of the seasons is a reminder of time passing, as it has a way of doing.
We’ve had probably 40-50 hummingbirds this summer. They are slowly leaving. The first 3 who come will be the last 3 here. Same every year since I’ve noticed (maybe 5 years now).
It would be fun to tag them to see the journey they take each year! In what I’ve read, they come back each year if they like the place. I like to think they like our place!
The kind of beautiful that gives you that emotional punch. Both this piece, and the end of summer. (Thanks for the share!)
The kingbirds are beautiful. I’m noticing a flurry of feeder activity this past week that too seems to be a changing of the guard, a final feed before the southern procession.
P.S. Hello Tom. The autumnal transition is less marked here in the garden squares between the century-old four-story apartment blocks that characterize our neighborhood in Hannover, Germany, but even here you suddenly notice (with regret) sometime early in August that the swallows are not screaming in front of the rain clouds anymore, and of course our little "colony" of red squirrels is getting even more frantic than usual (particularly so when one or another raptor (usually a Kestrel, but sometimes a big hawk) lands on the big ash across the way). In any event, since someone has already recommended The Peregrine (a classic), you might also like John-Lewis Stempel's Meadowland, another closely-observed and well-written nature study.
Jacob, how good to hear from you! I started into The Peregrine just yesterday and it absolutely feels like a book you’d be into. I’m enjoying it very much so far ... so much, in fact, that I’m going to go sit beside the Slough for two hours tomorrow to watch the play of birds and fish and seals as the sun rises.
I can't believe it's taken me this long to read such a beautifully-written and illustrated piece. Apologies! I like your noticing - and your ability to make us (me?) notice, too. Our tomatoes have been uniquely productive this summer - and for the first time we have a few pumpkins/squashes that volunteered from seed in the compost. This weekend saw a lot of garden work while the September sun slanted into my favourite hue, but at this very moment it's raining ... and a version of rain will be falling on a daily basis for the next six months. Ugh.
Thanks Bryan. The September light is great, isn’t it? Sitting in it right now. We too get a curtain that drops, and I find that any sunny day after mid-September feels like a bit of a gift. Sorry your rains have come early.
It’s a beautiful world, and you live in a particularly beautiful corner of it! :)
well written.
Very nice, especially for a Sunday morning.
Did not know he'd had such a long career - and Willie Nelson, beardless, in a tie? WOW :) Great shots, Tom, the rhythms of the seasons can be ours again...
Isn’t it amazing? That first album just comes from a completely different place than the Willie I grew up with
Seriously, I thought he was born with a beard and bandana.
We were just noticing this morning how the hummingbirds were getting particularly territorial over the feeder, yet paradoxically are not fighting too hard to protect it. We figure they must be bulking up for their migration.
Last night a group of us were discussing how there is less than a week to the full moon, and after that the possibility of frost. Time is passing indeed.
Great post, Tom!
You wonder, watching every other species going through some kind of transition, what it is we humans do that an outside observer would find strange? I have noticed a tendency among writers to go for the elegiac tone ...
I often wonder what our cats make of us before we go on a trip -- suitcases and phone calls and an air of something happening imminently. I'm pretty sure they know something's up -- they change, too, in reaction -- but of course they can't see the plane or the heather fields or the lattes in front of the Eiffel Tower. It must all seem strange to them.
A beautiful sentiment and wonderful photos! I'm particularly enjoying your beautiful scenes since our Texas summer has been so brutal. I like the reminder that the changing of the seasons is a reminder of time passing, as it has a way of doing.
Do you see animals reacting to the shortening days ... or does this behavior just come later down there?
I think everything is just a month or two later here. With lows in the mid-80’s and highs of 105-110, it still feels very much like summer.
Great read my friend. Please tell me you’ve read JA Bakers The Peregrine??
I can tell right now it’s right up your alley. One of my favorite books of all time. Anyone who enjoyed this post should 100% get that book.
Hey, thank you. I have not read it ... but will look it up now.
Such beautiful words and pictures, Tom - what a terrific read! 🙌
This kind of essay is our jam, isn’t it Rebecca? What the hell do we call it?
You're so right - do we need our own genre?!
I really enjoy reading your posts - keep 'em coming!
We’ve had probably 40-50 hummingbirds this summer. They are slowly leaving. The first 3 who come will be the last 3 here. Same every year since I’ve noticed (maybe 5 years now).
Don’t you wish you could tag them to know for sure?
It would be fun to tag them to see the journey they take each year! In what I’ve read, they come back each year if they like the place. I like to think they like our place!
The kind of beautiful that gives you that emotional punch. Both this piece, and the end of summer. (Thanks for the share!)
The kingbirds are beautiful. I’m noticing a flurry of feeder activity this past week that too seems to be a changing of the guard, a final feed before the southern procession.
Thanks Bryn
What a lovely piece of nature writing.
Thanks Amy
Evocative Tom. Thanks.
Jacob
P.S. Hello Tom. The autumnal transition is less marked here in the garden squares between the century-old four-story apartment blocks that characterize our neighborhood in Hannover, Germany, but even here you suddenly notice (with regret) sometime early in August that the swallows are not screaming in front of the rain clouds anymore, and of course our little "colony" of red squirrels is getting even more frantic than usual (particularly so when one or another raptor (usually a Kestrel, but sometimes a big hawk) lands on the big ash across the way). In any event, since someone has already recommended The Peregrine (a classic), you might also like John-Lewis Stempel's Meadowland, another closely-observed and well-written nature study.
Jacob, how good to hear from you! I started into The Peregrine just yesterday and it absolutely feels like a book you’d be into. I’m enjoying it very much so far ... so much, in fact, that I’m going to go sit beside the Slough for two hours tomorrow to watch the play of birds and fish and seals as the sun rises.
I can't believe it's taken me this long to read such a beautifully-written and illustrated piece. Apologies! I like your noticing - and your ability to make us (me?) notice, too. Our tomatoes have been uniquely productive this summer - and for the first time we have a few pumpkins/squashes that volunteered from seed in the compost. This weekend saw a lot of garden work while the September sun slanted into my favourite hue, but at this very moment it's raining ... and a version of rain will be falling on a daily basis for the next six months. Ugh.
Thanks Bryan. The September light is great, isn’t it? Sitting in it right now. We too get a curtain that drops, and I find that any sunny day after mid-September feels like a bit of a gift. Sorry your rains have come early.