Saturday

From the comfort of my breakfast table, it looks like an absolutely beautiful morning out. The trees are still, the sun is bright, and the sky over Estabrook Park is crystal blue. My phone said it was 48° out at 6am, however, so maybe I don’t mind waiting for things to warm up a bit before I hike over for the Friends of Estabrook Buckthorn Weedout that starts at 9am.

Plus, I have all these pictures left over from yesterday’s excursion, so check out this great blue heron on the river at the north end right by the great egret I showed you yesterday.

Speaking of the great egret on the river, here are a couple of more shots.

Best of all, I received an email message already this morning from long-time reader and well-known super-sleuth, Mark, who saw it there again this morning. If you’ve always wanted to see one in the wild right here in Shorewood, today could be your day.

Here’s a northern cardinal looking quite dashing in it’s shiny new plumage at last. That must be a huge relief.

Here are a couple more shots of that pretty little bird from yesterday with a bright yellow patch on its lower back. Maybe a yellow-rumped warbler?

Here are a couple more shots of that amazingly acrobatic golden-crowned kinglet.

Just a bit farther along the river, this black-capped chickadee, asked “acrobatics? You want to see acrobatics? Watch this! I’m doing on stalks that sway like blades of grass what that guy’s doing on stiff little wooden branches. Who’s the acrobat now?”

And here are a couple more shots of that bright yellow female scarlet tanager.

Finally, like the dragonflies, the butterflies aren’t all gone yet. I did see a monarch yesterday and even have a picture of it on the lawn warming up in the sun, but this cabbage white on a small white aster, maybe awl aster, makes for a much prettier picture.

Lastly, that mushroom I showed you emerging from the grass on Thursday, which I actually saw on Wednesday, was opening up nicely when I saw it again yesterday.

Well, wish me luck at the weedout, and maybe I’ll see you there. If not this Saturday, then perhaps next Saturday, October 2, at the Shorewood Fish & Feather Festival in Hubbard Park from 11 to 3. I’ll be manning the Friends of Estabrook Park booth, and let’s hope the weather then is a nice as it is today.