And I thought I had no sense of direction

Last week I noticed a bird who looked different than any I had seen around the property. He would hang out by the feeders and hop along the ground. Always alone, and usually hanging around the same group of trees. So I took some pics and googled him. He is a Bronzed Cowbird. The thing is, they are from Central America and go as far north as Louisiana. Well, we are pretty far north from that so it is a mystery how he got here. Perhaps he hitched a ride with a moving van. I saw him yesterday, and our temps are dropping so I hope this little guy can make it through one of our winters. And just so ya know I did report the sighting on ebird which I believe is run by Cornell.

First cardinal of the season

and her hair is a damn mess. Gosh, girl go and get that fixed now.

Another guest at the farm

Lynn and I have been trying to get close to this little guy for weeks now with no luck. He has a highly developed fear instinct and bolts usually at the sight of us. We started leaving food outside for him and slowly moving that food into the barn, in an effort to get comfortable in there. My hope is that he sleeps in there to escape the elements. It appears as though he does.
So we leave food in the barn every morning and every night as well as leave the barn doors slightly open so he can find shelter. Not sure how we are going to handle winter with him. Leaving the barn doors open is not the best idea. I think we should put in a cat door, Lynn does not agree. What to do! Should I just pull a Nora and buy and have Jim install the cat door? Probably. Even though this little one is a major snot-head for not liking us, I feel responsible for his well-being. And obviously Lynn does cause she is the one who started feeding him in the first place. Damn we are suckers. Little stinker dude.

Do yourself a favor and take a walk in the woods

That is exactly what we did yesterday. We had two nights in the 20s which is unusually cool for this time of year. As a result, the leaves on the trees started to shed. So I was anxious to get out and capture some of the fall beauty of the woods. It paid off as I was filled with awe. That is, until it started snowing. Yeh, we had a random snow squall blow in. Weird but cool.

and with a frost comes pics

First hard frost of the season

But the colors are still vivid. I really do love the fall. you can see the tracks in the filed. They are the result of the dogs running around in the frost-covered grass.

Last weekend's photos

Dahlia "David Howard" - a new addition to the hot border this year and I love it!  It supposedly can reach up to 6' tall, although mine is only between 3-4'.  I prefer the more contained height so I don't have to bother with staking.  But it has the most gorgeous bronze foliage set against spectacular bronze-orange flowers.  Truly a beautiful dahlia.

The beginning of the fall display; we produced a few pumpkins this year.  Halloween decorating still to come!

"Sweet Autumn" clematis (clematis paniculata) - a late bloomer, having only just fully opened within the past week or so.  Hardy and can grow up to 30' tall.  The above mass is a single plant.