Sunny day at Swan Lake
Mostly cloudy early, becoming partly cloudy and trending towards clear by this evening.
Last night when I stepped outside before it was quite warm and very wet and windy. The temperature was up to 61F.
Based on the overnight weather reporting, the wind and rain lasted until sometime early this morning.
I saw a few brief showers this morning and early afternoon, but it didn’t amount to much rain after the sun rose.
Yesterday’s total of 2.14″ was only .06″ off the record for the date of 2.20″ set in 1987.
It looks like three quarters of an inch or more may have fallen after midnight before things let up.
Rowan joined me for a walk around town this afternoon. By this time there was as much blue sky as clouds, and we mostly were in the sun.
When we were in the shade, or a cloud was passing in front of the sun, the air seemed distinctly cooler. It’s finally starting to feel more like fall temperatures.
At Swan Lake a couple of folks had just pulled their kayaks from the lake to the peninsula, so there weren’t any birds nearby. I did see Mallards and some other dabblers down towards the lower end, however.
Heavy rains yesterday and overnight raised lake levels and left puddles in the grass on the peninsula.
The lake was above normal level. I could see it had been even higher by where the grass had been flattened after being submerged.
We walked from the lake over to Castle Hill by way of the Pioneer Home.
I don't normally think of deerheart as epiphytic, but these were growing a few feet up in the crotch of a maple on Noow Tlein/Castle Hill
We didn’t see many birds, but I did notice an Orange-crowned Warbler in a maple near the Naa Kahidi community house.
Other than a couple of juncos and a lone pigeon, I didn’t see any birds on Castle Hill (though gulls were flying above). The starlings and robins I had seen on previous trips were not around.
One of several flies I tried to take pictures of on Castle Hill. There were at least a couple of species, but all were camera shy.
We saw many flies of at least two or three different species on the rock wall around the top of the hill. They were mostly quite skittish, so I wasn’t able to get the pictures I might have hoped. I suspect they were out basking in the sun. I’m curious if they overwinter as adults or are finishing out their lifecycle this season.
The starlings and robins missing at Castle Hill may have moved over to the green belt along Lincoln Street. Several of each were going for mountain ash berries in one of the trees there.
We walked as far as the science center. Rowan hadn’t been that way for some time – so the redone basketball court surface and the new hatchery raceway and building were new for her.
We checked the Yaw Building railing but didn’t find any weevils or beetles today.
Etolin Street had more bird activity than anywhere else we had been.
Some Etolin Street residents were out chatting and had a couple of questions for me as I walked by. One was curious about bats and whether they’re around, and another wondered about whether fall migration was mostly over.
This evening I began the process of getting my radio shows posted. I’ve fallen behind and hadn’t posted any shows since the June. I got one posted this evening and have several more to post (probably in the next couple of days).
After getting caught up on the radio shows, I’ll probably begin making a more concerted effort to post photojournal entries. It’s always a little hard to decide whether to to begin with backdated posts, and if so, how far back to go.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
