Lately the nights are cool and so are the early mornings.  It’s been a welcomed relief from the record-breaking heat we’ve had this summer.  Until I heard the geese overhead, honking as they flew in formation.  And I thought, fall is coming.

It’s been several things now.  I first heard the geese several weeks ago, but only once.  Now it’s daily that I see and hear them.

Remember when I said I don’t see the goldfinches unless they’re migrating?  Well, that was a clue too.  I figured it out when Patti said she saw them hanging around too.  Patti doesn’t live too far from me.

She did identify the male vs. female and yeah, mine was wrong.  All those gorgeous pictures I took were the female.  The male has since appeared on our deck but I only got one not very good picture of him.

What’s that you just said?  You can’t hardly see the male goldfinch in this picture?  There’s too much basil and too many tomato plants, and not enough bird?  Okay, try this one instead.

I was taking pictures in the garden last weekend and saw my basil yank down sharply.  I looked closely but only saw the bees.  Then it yanked down again and I thought – darn squirrel!  No, it was a little brown wren who also just showed up recently in the yard.  It flew off as soon as it noticed me watching.

And I saw hummingbirds last weekend too – a pair!  They were hanging out by the evergreens, so I think they have a nest there.  They’re usually around all summer, so I probably just didn’t notice them.  Of course, I also didn’t get buzzed this year like I did last year.  That made me notice them for sure.

Oh yes, I was writing about fall coming.  Our trees and grass are still very green due to all the rain and moisture.  That’s unusual for this time of the year.  Often the leaves start to dry out and you hear them clacking before they start turning brown.  That hasn’t happened yet.  The spiders aren’t yet crazy with their webs, although the insect noises at night have really ramped up.

I’ve tried to identify the reasons why I think fall is becoming.  The air feels different, the sun is lower and days are shorter, but mostly it just feels different out there.

Here’s one of the pictures I took out in the garden last weekend.  The red flowers are scarlet runner beans.  The beans are delicious, but I don’t know why these waited over three months to decide to bloom.  I don’t think they’ll grow and ripen enough before the first frost.

Nature basil bees fall coming geese migrating goldfinch scarlet runner beans