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fall has fell...



upon my feeders here in Conway. it's very dark and in the form of grackles
and Red-winged blackbirds. wow!  this eve a flock of Common grackles
materialized in the neighborhood here that was pretty imposing, maybe on the
order of a thousand birds or so. the cacophony of creaky door hinges
completely shut out any other bird sounds, including a mockingbird that was
twenty feet away from me. unbe-freaking-lievable. good thing Friday's
payday, for my seed bins are nearly barren.

ok, on a more inspiring note; this a.m. as i was preparing to leave for
work, a strident "kearrr, kearrr, kearrr" resonated thru the neighborhood.
overhead was a picture-perfect Red-shouldered Hawk being 'tailed' by a
mocker. the hawk never altered it's flight pattern, appearing to be in
complete disregard of that ragamuffin behind it while carving lazy circles
in the crystal clear Carolina blue sky. and a line from an old song popped
into mind that was never more appropriate; "...then I saw a young hawk
flying, and my soul began to rise." oh, yeah...

as i made my way toward the vehicle, a Ruby-throated hummer zoomed across my
path to take advantage of a Pineapple Sage that's just coming into its own.

my oh my, hawks and hummingbirds first thing in the morning, right outside
the front door. it might not be paradise, but it sure ain't bad.

i'm just tickled to death to be here, y'all...

;-)

gary phillips
conway, sc
sunset zone 31

"...where is the person, I ask, who, on observing this glittering fragment
of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and turn his mind with
reverence..." (J.J. Audubon)