A sudden gust of wind forced one of the warblers to make an emergency landing on the fence this morning. He stayed there a while, fluffing his feathers and preening. His behavior reminded me of our cats, who cover any awkward step or fall with a bout of elaborate grooming, as if to say, “I meant to do that. Now, a little privacy? As you can see, I’m bathing…”
The pear tree is reluctant to release its leaves this year. Even so, hints of red and yellow are creeping in. More and more with each cold front.
By contrast, our Japanese maple seems eager for winter. About a week ago, it’s leaves flared brilliantly red. Then they turned brown and brittle at the edges. Then they fell, almost all of them within a single day.
Now rafts of maple leaves float in the irises and drift across the porch. They scratch against the door and whisk inside with every trip to the mailbox or errand at the store. They whisper that winter is near, despite the pear tree’s curious delay.
Most of the yard is following the normal routine of preparing for winter, but the Yellow-rumped Warblers seem to feel that winter has already arrived.
In previous years, the wax myrtles’ abundant berries have lasted well into spring. Other birds refuse to eat the berries, and the Yellow-rumped Warblers are rarely numerous enough or hungry enough to need the entire crop. But this year, the branches may be bare as early as Christmas.
I’m a bit worried about what will happen to my favorite warblers, once their food supply runs out.
Somehow, in all of the recent rain and wind and clouds, I overlooked the fact that parts of the yard are still blooming.
All of the pollinators are gone, so it feels as if the flowers want only to be admired.
The yard seems eerily still this afternoon. Nothing stirs, other than the occasional flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers foraging in the wax myrtle.
They chirp softly to each other as they feed, and their muffled voices make me feel as if I should speak in a whisper.
It’s a perfect afternoon to crawl under a warm blanket, call the cats to join me, and lose myself in a new book.
