The show seems to never end…

Wow, oh wow! What a fabulous morning! It was raining and blowing hard when we got up, but the rain moved out over the lake by 9am, the winds died down, and I could have heard a pin drop on the mudflats by the river as the sun tried to come out. The Farmers Market sure lucked out, eh?

Before I got to the mudflats, however, I was treated to this spectacle right on the path behind the soccer fields. I guess the robins really felt the need for a bath.

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Then, on the mudflats, look who gave a second chance. That’s right, a giant ichneumon wasp (Megarhyssa atrata), which we first saw back in July, posed perfectly.

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Further north along the river, the beaver have been busy since yesterday! Not only have they made noticeable progress on the first tree, they’ve even started on a second!

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On my way back south again, I spotted this little painted turtle, not even 3 inches long, doing its best superman impersonation. It looks like the one we saw on a lilypad about three weeks ago, and it’s even in just about the same spot.

Also on the mudflats, this pretty little butterfly caught my eye, an eastern tailed-blue (Everes comyntas) in the same subfamily, Polyommatinae, as the ‘summer’ spring azure (Celastrina ladon neglecta) we saw about a month ago.

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Finally, still on the mudflats, I spotted this little guy, who for all the world appears to be a northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis), a warbler. They’re baaaack. Their breeding grounds start a bit north of here, and so this one is enroute to its wintering grounds in Central America. Woo Hoo! Our first fall migrator!

Lastly, nearly over the spot where the robins were bathing a couple of hours earlier, this little eastern wood-pewee (Contopus virens) also sat still for a second on its way to SOUTH AMERICA! Our second fall migrator!

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This morning turned out to be like cutting open a geode. Nothing but grey at the start, on the outside, but an absolute sight to behold once I get into it.