Welcome Cold Front–Oct 6, 2013
Hello. Hello to our first true “cold front,” that isn’t really cold but is oh so delightful! It was a sheer joy to wake up to the cool, dry air this morning. The pleasantness actually came in ahead of the rain, so I watched this amazing storm formation roll in over me while out for my morning walk.
And yes, I did catch a few raindrops as well, but was not drenched as before.
The fall season is now officially here. I mean officially here–I spotted the first osprey (left, with prey) this morning. Seems apropos that it would be on the first chilled morning–almost as if it arrived with the autumn wind. 
Get ready for a ton of fuzzy osprey photos – maybe not as bad this year now that I have access to the peninsula. But I’ll start the season right with this fuzzy one (right) I snapped on my drive back to the house.
Another amazing site–a tricolor heron actually hovering in the air. I have never seen a heron hover, let alone any as big as this guy. 
But hover it did.
Finally learned the name of a plant I’ve been puzzled by for a while. It is called Dodder, or Love Vine, but this is no lover! 
It’s a parasite, and it sucks the life out of its host plant. It is a rootless, leave-less tangle of orange or yellow stems that look like pencil-thin twine. Its seeds do germinate on the ground, but once it latches on to a plant, it loses its connection to the ground, getting its nutrients from the host. 
It grows into a thick tangled mess that sets atop the plant. Very odd.
Today’s post has been quite gray. Here’s a touch of color courtesy of the bright, cheery little swamp daisies that greeted me when I first arrived today.
Green Thought:“The more we nurture the planet, the better and more natural a life we’ll have.” ― Chris d’Lacey, Icefire
