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It is obviously very dependent on weather, but at the end of July or thereabouts, the foliage begins to look less radiant as leaves dry out in the heat of summer.
Usually though, we don’t see evidence of autumn’s approach until the end of August.
Yet looking out at the hills a few days ago, the world seemed to me to be acquiring a yellow hue and some leaves are already falling.
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The landscape is very different now as corn reaches its full height and road sides burst with wild flowers.
Today I noticed that the level of ponds and rivers is much reduced since the endless rain of Spring.
Just as our temperatures can change dramatically in the span of a day, we can go from flood to drought in a very short time which makes one appreciate the difficulties faced every year by farmers.
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Since I took this early morning photo a couple of days ago, the smoke has dissipated significantly, though I daresay we are not done yet, given the number of fires we hear about.
It has not been awful here. What this image shows is partly mist.
Often we have not been able to see the distant hills, but so far I’ve been more troubled by the idea of the smoke than by any physical reaction.
It is birds in particular that I worry about.
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A juvenile red-winged blackbird.
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Purple finch.
Birds are so delicate.
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Wood ducks we came upon recently.
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Mrs Red Cardinal, lit up by the rising Sun as she ate sunflower seeds.
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Admittedly, I worry quite a lot less about insects which is probably wrong because many of them play an important role in the Big Picture.
And even those who seem not to are entitled to get on with the life they’ve been given.
Mosquitoes, ticks, flies…
They can’t help being who they are, can they?
Thank you, Carolyn, for your beautiful photos of the fields, plants, and insects, which you are very kind to!
Joanna
At the moment, I would gladly see the obliteration of mosquitoes. They are eating me alive!
Your feathered friends are beautiful, but it is definitely a no from my side when it comes to mosquitoes, ticks, and flies (I am allergic to mosquitoes and ticks, and flies are just plain annoying). Our season for these three is approaching soon and I must admit, I am not looking forward to that! Lovely photo of the hibiscus 🌸🌸.
Biting insects and disease spreading ones just seem to have developed to trim-down the human population, and feed some other species in the process. I could do without them, in all honesty. The Autumn season definitely arrived early this year. Last week the acorns began falling from the Oak trees around our house, and there are hundreds of them on the ground. Some of the leaves have already followed them too.
Best wishes, Pete.
We have our fair share of a plethora of species when it comes to mosquitoes, ticks, and flies, not just one type!