That Golden Time Of Year

A few days ago as my husband and I were driving up Route 3 in northern Oswego County into Jefferson County, I was really inspired by the glow of the country landscape. It's not quite fall yet - still summer actually, but only for a few  more days.

The countryside was all a-glow. Washed in a golden hue. Not bright yellow, but a warm golden color. A nice end-of-summer day. This is the time of year when the leaves are still holding on to the trees, but the color is fading from the bright luster greens to the yellow-greens before the trees change into their full autumn color and glory.

Great Blue Heron

Lots of yellow and amber colored flowers in the fields scattered around. Many fields are flooded with goldenrod, wild sunflowers, Black-eyed Susans, dried corn stalks, soy beans ripening and turning yellow, and a variety of fall grasses.

Maple Ridge Wind Farm, Lowville, NY (Lewis County)

This time of year is so quiet to me. No birds singing in the early morning. A few hanging around scavenging for seeds to hide for winter, like the chickadees and nuthatches. There are a few tree frogs chirping in the areas, and some crickets, too.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

We've seen quite a few butterflies this year. There were lots of swallowtails visiting our gardens throughout summer, but very few monarchs. I did notice there are several milkweed plants (which the monarch lays their eggs on) around our place, but with the drought we had this summer I'm not sure all the plants survived. I hope this doesn't contribute to the loss of habitat for the Monarchs.

I'm not sure what kind of butterfly this is. I think it might be a Silver-border fritillary.

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

When I was thinking of a title for this blog post the movie "On Golden Pond" (1981) came to mind. It must have been because I was using "Golden" in the title of this blog post. What a great classic movie that was. Not only was it filmed on a beautiful lake with gorgeous scenery, but the characters and story were certainly something that everyone could relate to at one time or another in their life. It's a story about family relationships, including conflicts, love, caring and understanding, presented in a way that will bring a smile to your face. The movie won three Academy awards. Best Actor (Henry Fonda), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Katharine Hepburn), and Best Adapted Screen Play (Ernest Thompson). One of our favorite lines from the show was: "So, how fast does this old tub go, anyway?" If you have an old boat you'll know what I mean.

It's also that time of year when the salmon are heading upstream in the local rivers. Pulaski and Oswego are popular fishing spots for salmon.

The above two photos were taken a few years ago by my friend, Karen Liscum, of the Salmon River in Pulaski. You can see the fish in the river heading upstream to spawn.

These salmon were caught in Lake Ontario
off of Henderson Harbor in early September.

So as we say good bye to summer, 

let us welcome the new season of Autumn!

"Don't cry because it's over, 

smile because it happened."

~ Dr. Seuss

This is a great time of year to get out and enjoy the beautiful end of summer. Go for a ride and pick some apples at a local farm stand or go for a hike in the woods!

Thanks for stopping by; 

feel free to leave a comment!