Can it be that September is already running out?
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A few clouds grace the sky without the benefit of rain.
Though there is the possibility, this week.
We’ve been told that before.
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Thursday’s exciting expedition was to Greenwich for bird food, with a short meander.
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Buzzards may be our most common bird of prey although we often see Red-tailed and Cooper’s hawks as well as eagles and kestrels.
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Buzzards are often seen circling over Greenwich but I don’t know what the attraction may be, nor was it obvious here that day.
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Vultures certainly have their purpose.
Sky burials sound barbaric yet seem such a efficient method of disposal.
Though I wouldn’t much care to be the funeral director!
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No matter where you head around here, you can count on running into the Batten Kill.
Scarcely more than ankle deep in places these days.
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Here we came upon that collection of abandoned freight train carriages.
With a safety warning.
What it means of course, is that these cars should not be nudged, implying that they contain hazardous chemicals which makes their abandonment even more curious.
(I looked it up. Carriages thus marked carry dangerous goods.)
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Mostly, I kept my eyes lifted in search of Fall colours, still elusive.
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We did see several flocks of starlings.
Nattering away like so many fishwives. No doubt making plans for their journey south.
Or perhaps exchanging stories of their summer adventures.
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Here was a patch of colour, but it seemed – scorched.
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Ponds have turned pea green and many are completely dry.
A fine colour, but not what I was looking for.
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Where would we be if not for the floods last Spring?
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Coming back past our chatty friends, still gossiping.
Them, not us.
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These fields are beautiful under snow. I’ve photographed them wrapped in mist and frosted over, and I’ve taken many Fall pictures here, but this is a new look.
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There is a savage beauty to it.
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When I disconnect from my idea of how Fall should be.
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But I can’t help seeing stress.
And it isn’t just what I am feeling, is it?
Yes, everything is stressed. I guess stress and beauty are not incompatible. Even your brief road trips are beautiful!
I confess I did not know that you have vultures in NY State. Those train carriages would concern me. What awful toxic waste could be left festering inside them? That should not be allowed. It has turned chilly here, only 11C/52F today.
Best wishes, Pete.
They are turkey vultures. Similar to buzzard. I’m never quite sure which is which to be honest. I think buzzards are more brown.
Thank you, Carolyn, for the beautiful landscapes, the birds getting ready to move south, dry-ish lakes, and the stress of the parched nature projecting this feeling on you. Please remember, though situations don’t last, though people do!
Joanna
I had to read up on sky burials – I wish I hadn’t!
Very clean and efficient Peter! There was a fab story of a tourist in the early days when sky burials were still conducted. Typically and ghoulishly he wanted a photograph but the priest took offense and attacked him, waving a severed limb! Now you are really sorry you asked. Apologies. Black humour.
There’s no ‘arm in that!
Sky burials? I had to look that up (like Peter) … and all I can think of is that a mountain top can be quite high and who carries the body up there? When you pass by the starlings again, could you please tell them that we in the Southern Hemisphere are ready for them – it is still a bit cold (and also rainy today), but by the time they arrive, there will likely be enough sun for them to make new summer adventures.