September 15

The last gasp of summer. The wind was fierce from the southwest and fragrant with the smell of grass and flowers. It was humid and heavy with sunlight but it is mid-September and likely to be the last summery day till next May or June. We can still have a bright nearly hot day or two in October but none of us will count on that.

The seed heads of the phragmites reeds are turning already. The magnificent silver display will soon turn into a waving ocean of silver. The occasional florist or interior designer may come by and cut a dozen canes to use in an arrangement. They are just one more of the usual migrants who stop over at Belle Isle.

The wind was so strong that nearly nothing was flying. At the start of the Long Thicket, four crows took offense at my presence and protested loudly.  I was surprised that they let me stand beneath their perch in a tree without taking flight. Usually all I have to do is point my camera or binoculars and they take off. Not today.

The Overlook was quiet but just beyond the Long Dike I saw some egrets and so creeping up and over the dike, I watched the Great Egret clan with a few Snowys and a Great Blue Heron gathered in one of the small pools. The wind kept them down on the ground and so far they have not left for the warm south but I expect any day that they’ll be gone just like the swallows here today and gone tomorrow.

The  creek was filling up as the tide was coming in. In North Dakota you can see a fields of wheat in September that look this ripe. No wheat grows here and it’s probably not possible to bake a loaf of spartina bread but this stand of marsh grass  looks as full and rich.

It was slow today but noisy with the wind roaring above. It was calming to walk beneath the speedy clouds and watch.

Ciao!

-Jorge

This entry was posted on September 15, 2008 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Daily - the next year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.