And the Seasons, they go Round and Round--its Fall Again.

Hummingbird visits the office feeder for a sip.

WOW...time really does fly! My last post was Spring and now it is late Fall.
...the HUMMINGBIRDS have already left after stoking up for the long flight further south of the United States,
...the BATS have already left for their warm caves (55 degrees year around),
...the WOODCHUCKS are already in their burrows for the winter, fat from a summer of eating well,

This Chipmunk is looking for nuts to take back to his burrow.

...the CHIPMUNKS have finished scampering around for nuts and we haven't seen them for the last few weeks so they must be snug in their underground burrows for the long winter, How do I know it will be a long winter? See below for information about the WOOLLY BEAR.
...the AMERICAN COOTS are gathering on the lake for the last leg of their journey to more southern states like Kentucky or even as far south as Florida,
...the RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS have left, but wait, after almost a month of not seeing or hearing them, I just heard them again. This must be a small group resting here on our lake from their trip starting further north.

A CONFUSED Woolly Bear caterpillar!

...this WOOLLY BEAR caterpillar is confused! Most woolly bear caterpillars have a brown stripe in the middle with two black stripes on each end. Folklore claims that the brown stripe is a predictor of the winter weather. A wide brown stripe means a mild winter and a thin brown stripe means a hard winter. I am not sure what THIS caterpillar is forecasting.

Looking northeast across the bay at House In The Wood.

 ...the trees are blazing with the bright colors of fall,
 ...the acorns and hickory nuts have fallen,
 ...the plants have spread their seeds,
 ...and the leaves are drifting down with every breath of wind.

For more information on House In The Wood go to www.houseinthewood.com

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All rights reserved 2013 by Valerie J Wright

Update

The Garlic Mustard is blooming...

...I hope that we get our Rowe Elementary School 

plant bully helpers before it seeds.

The Red Winged Blackbird females have arrived and...

...the males are very noisy as they try to attract their attention.

The American Coots have moved on to their breeding ground a little further north...

...we will see them next at OEC in October 

as they migrate through to go south for the winter.

The BATS are BACK!

Bats are mammals

Like most mammals, including people, bats have fur, grow up inside their moms, are born live, and nurse milk from their mothers' bodies. Bats belong to a special group of flying mammals called Chiroptera (Ki-ROP-ter-a). This word is Greek for "hand-wing." Bats actually fly with a modified hand.

Bats--the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

Many people still fear and dislike these winged mammals of the night. Several hundred years ago in Europe, bats were considered evil, dirty, and mysterious. These feelings were passed on through legends.

Today we know that the many myths surrounding bats are false. But, because of these myths, some people still harm bats. In fact, because of human actions, many species have become endangered. Bats play a valuable role in the ecosystem. Worldwide, bats are the most important natural enemies of night-flying insects. The little brown bat can eat 600 mosquitoes AN HOUR!. 

House In The Wood has bat houses to encourage these excellent means of natural pest control to live at House In The Wood. Since we are next to a marsh, mosquitoes could be overwhelming in the summer but although they can get bad on some days, they are not as bad a they could be.

ALL Bat information from my favorite Wisconsin nature site EEK!

For more information on House In The Wood please go to our website at www.houseinthewood.org

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American Coot is my Favorite Water Bird

The American Coot comes to Lake Delavan twice a year--once in the Spring and once in the Fall--as they migrate through on their journey north or south. They are one of my early signs of Spring and my late signs of Fall. There are hundreds of them and they all flock together.

They make a very soothing bell-like whistle. When they take off, they look very funny as they skitter on the water with their feet before they finally manage to lift off.

You can't mistake them--see the dark body and white beak!

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