Beech Nut.
Crows out there again this morning, just a-cruisin’ the roadsides. No fancy little birds that I could here or see. Blue sky, chilly air.
Looking south.
Got busy right away, and the work, while fruitful, caused brain-cramp. I did remember lunch, at least, and walked around a lot, and quit a little early. Jack and I took a swing through town, stopping here and there. Lots of gulls about—herring and ring-billed—but I noticed little else. A blue jay.
And another jay was screaming when we got out of the pickup at Beech Hill just as the sun was going down. Also heard a robin and a hairy woodpecker. As we rounded the first turn and headed up, the near-half-moon hung high in the clear, diminishing blue. Heard the chip! of a yellow-rump then caught sight of the little bird in a trailside bush before it flitted away down the southern slope. Scanned the lake for coots but saw none.
The circle of the sun touched the Rockville Ridge right about the time we reached the summit. And although we didn’t linger, we’d descended no more than a hundred yards before it had set completely. But its lingering light left a glow in the sky that blended smoothly from the horizon to the dome, from orange to blue. It reflected on the lake and the bay.
Dog at twilight.
I love a sweet, brief twilight.
Tonight, a minute ago, I stepped out for some air and heard the voice of a goose down Clam Cove way. Migration is down to a few stragglers, true, but some geese will linger all year.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Blue jay (voice)
2. American robin (voice)
3. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
4. Yellow-rumped warbler
5. Black-capped chickadee
Elsewhere
6. American crow
7. Herring gull
8. Ring-billed gull
9. Canada goose
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Canada goose, herring gull, ring-billed gull, yellow-rumped warbler
