Cardinal Caring, Autumn Closing In

We surely have been enjoying the clear, cool evenings this week!

The Moon has been shining down on us

The fields are turning, drying out for harvest time

And the deer are becoming darker, as they do in Autumn

On Saturday night, a cute toad came to visit!

And the Moon was spectacular!

We have the silliest squirrel ever...ever! This happens...a lot:

Yesterday I had to run it off the feeder so our sweet little birdies could come in for their evening meal

Squirrel taking Squirrel Route 1 back to the tree...

 We have a couple of little chickadees in the 'hood!

 Mama Cardinal, looking, well, like usual

 Here's one of her juveniles!

 "I know you didn't just sass me, young lady!"

 The Juveniles diving into the seed!

They are getting so big! Mama still keeps an anxious eye on them, though.

And the Moon swells

We did see a hummingbird at twilight, but no chance for pics. They are still with us, for the moment, but it is day to day. I will sorely miss their presence! Godspeed, little ones...see you next year!

Sunny Sixteen +

 We have two volunteer sunflowers this year (thanks, squirrels!)

 This is Big Sunny

 Bees love Big Sunny :-)

 Tracking the mid-day sun

Love these flowers!

Li'l Sunny is starting to open today!

 Our little Rosie is thriving!

 Happy little flowers :-)

G-Man, our garden gnome, hanging out with Rosie

We still have a few daisies out front, too!

 This big bee loves our cypress vine!

 These petunias were in our small hanging basket, and in a bad way. I put them out back in the corner of our tomato bed. A week later, and they are so happy!!!

 Our big basket continues to amaze us. I have kept it fed and watered, and it has been spectacular! I love how the purple petunias start looking washed out late in the season, but just keep blooming.

And The Bug has had the most fun popping poppers on her impatiens, lol!

 And of course, our very happy pet geranium, Pinky!

She has always produced two different shades of flowers...so interesting!

Well, that's sixteen sunny day pics, but as some of you know, photographers also use the "sunny sixteen" rule when photographing the moon. This was a seasonal blue moon, so I played with software filters a bit, as well as messing with other fine-tuning adjustments.

 High clouds first night of the full moon

 Autumnal feel to this one!

 Finally, clear sky!

Bleu

Blanc

et Rouge!

Morning after...clouds moving in from the west

Of course the full moon always brings wackiness

 The dreaded weresquirrel!!!

 We had to be on constant toad watch when out and about

 And then there's this!!!

Finally, sometimes flying things can disrupt the evening quiet...especially when you live near the home of the USAF's heavy haulers!

 Coming in low

Slow

And large!

I think I'm gonna need a bigger citronella candle...

Down on the farm

Actually, it's not a farm...just our little yard

 

But we have 'maters!

 

And Marigolds

 

 Zinnias and Verbena

 Pinky the Pet Geranium, being threatened by Cypress Vine

A few more daylilies, fixin' to bloom

 

One of the last of Ellen's Double Orange Daylilies

And LOTS of birds!

 Young Grackle, trying to get along with a host of House Sparrows

 Dove and Sparrow, observing rules of personal space

This dove? Not so much...just crashed the party!

 Juvenile Robin, rebelling against the notion of self-feeding!

 Pop giving Junior a talking-to, and a bit of worm...

 This fellow knows how to eat

 And so does this one!

 This lady enjoys Pink in the evening...I guess she had Purple for lunch

And the swifts patrol constantly overhead, thinning out the insects

This cute little Bumble steals a snack

And in the evening, we take delight in seeing the occasional little toad coming out.

Life is good out back!