October 19, 2025

Well. this may be a short blog.  We're halfway through October and things are slowly cooling down out there at the Pond.  The one big old Fish is still eating like crazy every evening.  Leaves are landing in the Pond every day and I swoop them up as fast as possible so that they don't rot under the water.  Note: the white color is typical for these big OLD Fishes.

This is not from my yard, but is one of the Turtles we saw on an Albion Area Lifelong Learners' trip to Marshall last week.  Picture 2 shows two other turtles at quite a distance from us.   I don't know.  When I was a kid, my nature book said that freshwater Turtles are called Terrapins;  land Turtles (like Box Turtles) are Tortoises, and ocean ones are Turtles.  Was that a British book? 

The red leaves didn't fail us this fall.  Even though the street is still full of excavation equipment, the colors are still gorgeous - just keep looking UP!  Our street has been a real mess all summer, but there are still some views it's worth looking up to see!

Last week I posted a question - why do some of my crocus-like flowers have mutiple petals at this time of year?  Google this question and see what it tells you.  In this picture you see one ordinary crocus and one multiple-petaled one.  Chaim has gotten very good at going to chatgpt to ask this sort of question.  Try it!

The Asiatic Day Flowers are just about to finish blooming.  

I THINK this red flower is a repeat bloom of the Flowering Quince you saw in the Spring.  Has anyone else had one of these?   The New England Asters beside it (one with Bumblebee) are just beginning to get sleeepy.  Most are fading now but there are still some hangers-on.

These Butterfies (a Sulfur Butterfly,  a Gray Hairstreak and a Zabulon Skipper)  are just about done for the season.

The Goldenrod has just about finished up for the year.  I love that color so much but it does such a job on my poor runny nose!  The thing I liked the most about it was the variety of Creatures that came to visit and have a spot of supper for a few weeks.  The little Wasps, the Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (middle), and some of those Ambush Bugs really glowed in its Golden light.

We have our usual Gray Squirrels, one of which disguises itself in black but is still an Eastern Gray Squirrel.  But this fall I'm seeing more than usual of these little red-tailed American Red Squirrels.   Aren't they precious?

Back to the tree bugs.  Here is an Alder Spittlebug.  Then a Speckled Sharpshooter.  (I believe you saw this one last week!)

Well, folks, thanks for joining us this week again to see the variety of Creatures that come to visit this little neck of the woods.   Please keep your eyes and ears open for new sights and sounds - I hope to see you all again next week - who knows what kinds of creatures we may see on our path to the future!  Take care and love from Martha.