I can see clearer now…

It felt as though the smoke was thinner this morning in Estabrook Park, and the wind out of the south that has built up since then is supposed to push it back north, from whence it came, so maybe we’ll have a nice and clear day tomorrow. In the meantime, this is who I saw through the smoke today.

An osprey was back on one of the lights over the UWM commuter parking lot. I’d like to think it’s the same one who’s visited us on and off all summer, and it’s back one more time before heading south for the winter, but it’s hard to tell.

The work crew made a lot of progress on the temporary dam around their work site at the falls, which has exposed some fresh river bottom, and this young spotted sandpiper was making the best of a new opportunity.

At the north end, I didn’t see any deer, so the best show was this belted kingfisher thrashing the crayfish it had just caught before gulping it down.

On my way back south, I found this slightly roughed up widow skimmer dragonfly taking a moment in the meadow to soak up what sun it could.

And there are still a couple of pearl crescents around.

The prettiest sight today, however, has got to be this fresh-looking red-spotted purple, also basking in what sun it could find, on a cup plant blossom in the pollinator garden.

Finally, here’s a look at the temporary dam above our half of the falls.

And here’s a bit of a closeup that better shows the freshly exposed river bottom on the left side.

I wonder if tomorrow we’ll be able to detect any reshaping of the falls they might accomplish today. If you want to see for yourself, you are welcome to visit at any time, of course, but if you are waiting for an additional excuse to make the trip, please note that the Friends of Estabrook Park are having another picnic in the beer garden next week on Tuesday, August 12 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The usual host, Harold Schmidt, will be traveling that day, and he has asked me to host in his place, so who knows what might happen, but you’ll get to see it live if you’re there.