Monday, September 19, 2016

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!

12 comments:

  1. Susan (& Ted), Yes, it is sad to say good-bye to summer and we have had 2 swimming parties this week to say good-bye. Autumn is nice except it brings January and February. :-( Loved your blog this month. What fantastic pictures of the fishermen and the salmon. Thank you.

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    1. Hi Kay & Mike, it's hard to believe that summer is ending. But we're having record high temperatures here. Ted actually went swimming in Lake Ontario yesterday and the water is still pretty warm for this time of year.
      Yes, I'm hoping we'll have a pretty mild winter like we did last year. Thanks so much for your lovely comments. I really appreciate it.

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  2. Way across the country from you in Oregon but noticing
    the end of the season as you show in your lovely photos.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos!

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  3. Beautiful pictures and a great look at the end of summer. It was so dry here in the Finger Lakes that my perennial gardens took a beating, but are surviving. I was cleaning up in my front flower bed and found a nest of baby bunnies under my Tradescania. We are watching Mom coming and going via our deer cam set up nearby. Really neat! We also hatched a Cecropria Moth early this summer and I'm waiting impatiently to hatch a Luna Moth cocoon we found in our driveway. We're still loaded up with birds at our feeders--mostly sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees and a pair of cardinals. We made a solar powered bubbly fountain for them this year and they really love it. Also have an awesome crop of birdhouse gourds and luffa sponges growing for some crafty stuff this winter. Miss seeing you--keep up the inspiring blogs!

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    1. Thanks so much Susan! I miss seeing you, too. We used to have a lot of fun at the Art Center in Pulaski. My perennial beds took a beating, too, and I'm even ashamed to photograph them. They really need a lot of work and it seems like it was too hot this year to work outside. It sounds like you have a yard that's very attractive to wildlife. That's awesome! We found out we had fox under our shed this year so we set up our trail cam behind it and got some great photos of the kits. I think I need a solar powered fountain. What a great idea!
      You were so lucky to find those cocoons. The Luna Moth is one of the most beautiful moths I've ever seen. I saw one at work several years ago (it had been hanging on the window screen all morning). I went home on my lunch time to get my camera and when I got back he was gone. Would have loved to photograph it.
      I love the decorated birdhouse gourds. Several years ago we had some in our backyard. We had a Great-crested Flycatcher nest in one of them and they returned to use them for several years. Have fun this winter with your gourds!

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  4. I like the picture of the fish! Are you allowed to catch them from the river when they are spawning?

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    1. Thank you. Yes, you can fish from the river, but you need a fishing license. There are several areas on the river that allow public access for fishing, and certain private areas where you have to pay to park and fish there.

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  5. A very nice end to your summer, Sue. The salmon photo with all those fish is quite an amazing sight. I like seeing the butterflies again, we even have some flying around in October. Lovely day here, but the heat is back again. It still seems like summer.

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    1. Thanks, Donna. Yes, the salmon are awesome to watch. There is a fish hatchery further upstream from this location that offers quite a bit of educational material on the fish in our area.
      We've had beautiful, warm fall weather. It's been very enjoyable.

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  6. Beautiful photos Sue, especially that sunset. You have an array of critter pictures too. I saw this post yesterday and commented, but have been having trouble getting a comment through. The salmon images I saw on Facebook, pretty impressive.

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    1. Thanks, Donna. That sunset picture was taken in Lewiston/Youngstown last month (Sept) when we were visiting family. I was going to send you a message, but I think that might have been one of the times you were out of town. I've been having problems posting on peoples blog posts, too.

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