Happy Saturday to everyone! It is a beautiful autumn morning here, pleasantly mild at 46F (8C) and the sun is partly shining, though the clouds cover most of the sky. The birds are very busy today and for some reason I have been as well. And that has put me behind schedule. I had been planning to get this post out early today, but my plans were laid aside due to other factors.

The juncos have returned once more from their homes up north, stopping here for a while to feast until it is time to continue their journey southward. There are still a few white-throated sparrows, but most have now gone south. But the junco numbers increase daily, and they find their way onto the feeder and deck quite frequently. So, I have begun putting out some smaller bird seed for them, which they are enjoying very much.

They can be quite friendly little birds and will hop around my feet when I go to put seeds out. The chickadees and nuthatches are here nearly all day now, trying hard to get in at some sunflower seeds. It is not easy for them since I cannot put out a hanging feeder for them yet. But they do not give up easily. Sitting there watching them, that is solitude.

The evening grosbeaks are back and increasing in numbers too. I counted 18 this morning, the most yet this fall. At least 2 of the females have decided to stand up to the blue jays. The jays like to take over the feeder at times, scaring all the other birds. But these 2 females fight back and chase the jays off the feeder. One female even chased a blue jay back up into the tree, following close behind him, then she came right back.

One of the males finally decided to fight back this morning as well. He did not do so well with the second blue jay, however. But he tried. Even though my bird feeders are not what they should be right now, the birds do not seem to mind. They are most interested in the food, not really the feeder. It is so nice having them around. That is solitude.

The beauty of autumn with the colored leaves of green, brown, yellow, gold, orange and red, truly lights up the landscape. Sitting on the deck feasting on the sight, that is solitude. Watching those bright blue jays against the colorful landscape of autumn leaves, is just so beautiful. The strong north wind we had on Thursday has, however, blown much of the leaves off the trees now, so our colorful autumn was rather short lived this year.

There is still a lot of color, but not like it should be, many trees have no leaves whatsoever on them. So the colors are more patchy now. It is still beautiful though. The walnut tree out front lost all of its walnuts in that wind too. There are now hundreds of walnuts on the ground, driveway and street. They really pop when cars drive over them. All part of autumn’s beauty. That is solitude. Have a wonderful weekend everyone, stay safe, and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2022 Steve McLeod.