Mosaic Monday #100: September Spotlight

I intended to keep this post short, with only the BEST photos from September.  Well ... the more I looked, the more I found! Once I had my list, I pinched my lip, considering.  The inside and outside fire pictures - nothing out of the ordinary.  Gone.  What about the food photos?  Leaving them out might hurt the delicate feelings of Head Chef, and seeing as he feeds me - they stay in.  Hmmm ... six photos from our September camping trip?  Sometime in the future, I will write a whole post about that adventure.  Out.  How many lake pictures do YOU want to see?  But some are with #1 Son - can't leave those out.  Maybe I could discard the hand-drawn birthday cards I made - but then I am pretty darn proud of them.  All right, enough dithering, let's just get on with it and see how we go.  Work for you? 

In this post, I wrote about my pillow cross-stitch project.  I am pleased to report that the stitching is complete, and I will be taking all the materials I need on an upcoming road trip; I will use my sister-in-law's sewing machine to install the zipper and complete the project!

As long as we are on the crafty subject, below is  a mosaic with the two birthday cards I made during the month.  The coffee and cake-themed card went to one of my sisters, and the over-the-hill theme went to a former colleague in Arizona.  She has a whacky sense of humor and I knew she would appreciate it!

We've had a stretch of lovely weather the last couple of weeks; unending sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s.   Most days, I spend a few hours pottering in the garden.  Cutting plants down to the ground to promote future growth.  Transplanting volunteers and the prolific coreopsis to bring a bit more order to the flower beds.  Collecting seeds for fall and spring planting.  Along the way, I encounter little critters such as caterpillars and grasshoppers.  The spotted tussock moth caterpillar was shuttling across the driveway; I moved him to the edge of the forest, but 10 minutes later he was back on the driveway, on his original heading.  I transported him again, but this time in the direction he wanted to go.  I didn't see him again!

Mid-month, I had the opportunity to join Dear Neighbor Friend and another acquaintance for a morning kayak.  As we left the creek and entered the lake proper, we spotted something in the water.  Too low to be ducks.  Wrong shape for beaver.  As we got closer, the playful movements made it obvious that we were looking at otters!  It turned out to be a magical morning, as we saw up to 8 or 9 otters at various points around the lake.  Our phones didn't do the best job of capturing photos, but you can get the general idea.

At the beginning of the month, I moved my trail camera, and the location has yielded a plethora of critters.  I believe it is the water that makes this such an attractive site for all of these animals, especially the birds.  It has brought me great joy to identify those I didn't already recognize!

(For those real birders out there, please correct me if I've got it wrong!)

In the case of the marsh wren and the dowitcher, I was aided in the identification by having seen them in person before I saw them on camera.  The picture of the dowitcher certainly does not do its plumage justice!

I was also struck by the glorious feathers of the Canada Jay, especially how the gray tail is tinged with white.  Handsome, indeed!

In most of the photos, the Canada Jay appears alone, but in this series, two are bathing in the water.

Two more treats were in store - Williamson's Sapsucker and Clark's Nutcracker (look closely at the bottom picture in the second collage - can you see four of the nutcrackers?)  I have never seen these birds in person, so I am thrilled that the trail camera has captured them!

 

Moving on from birds, it would be a shocking day without at least one shot of deer.  I worked long into the night (!) to down select to only the most unique and interesting!

Well, folks, it's happened.  This post is long, and I fear even the most intrepid reader is wondering "will it ever end?"  So, come back next week for part 2!  More critters and more lake scenery.  Maybe even a rainbow to brighten your day.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time). 

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog. 

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back. 

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by. 

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully. 

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

My Hiking Journal: Entries 12 and 13

Yesterday, I was watering my neighbor's garden, and the tree swallows were dive-bombing me in an attempt to protect the youngsters in the nesting boxes nearby.  It brought to mind our kayaking trip last July, when we floated past a large cliff wall riddled with holes made by bank swallows.

Friday, July 7, 2017 - Whitefish River - 8 miles

(Internet)

Our son shuttled us with a put-in at Kay Beller Park and a take-out at the Highway 40 bridge.  During the 3-hour paddle, herons would lift slowly and silently from a marshy inlet to find a spot without people.  Numerous painted turtles lined up nose to tail on every available log, and were ambivalent to the yellow creature drifting past.  Only the yellow iris tucked among the still-short bulrushes, and the occasional goldfinch, could compete with the brightness of our inflatable kayak.

Mid-way through our journey, we approached a curve and immediately noticed a dramatic increase in bird traffic.  And then we saw the cliff wall and the birds flying to and from it.  As I learned later, the Bank Swallow is usually seen in flocks, flying low over ponds and rivers with quick, fluttery wingbeats.  It nests in dense colonies, in hole in dirt or sand banks.  Some of these colonies are quite large, and a tall cut bank may be pockmarked with several hundred holes.  Despite their small size, tiny bills and small feet, these swallows generally dig their own nesting burrows, sometimes up to five feet long.

(Internet)

I took this video of the bank swallows on Whitefish River, and got a pleasant bonus at the end.

While Man with Hat didn't hook any fish that day, we watched birds on the wing snagging dragonflies and other winged insects that flitted about the river's surface.  At one point, a bald eagle flapped serenely over the river, and unseen hawks called to each other from the thick stands of trees.  A deer near the river's edge lifted a dripping, shiny nose to assess our threat, and then slowly retreated to the woods.

Two pairs of kayakers each shared the waterway that day, exchanging only a nod in our direction as they glided downriver.  It seemed no one wanted to break the peace of the summer day, punctuated by nothing louder than the buzz of insect wings and the twitter of the birds.

Saturday, July 8, 2017 - Middle Fork, Flathead River - 8 miles

Yes, we went kayaking two days in a row.  You might as well, when you have all your gear together, but it probably had more to do with our son's work schedule accommodating another shuttle!

We put in around 11 am at Cascadilla Creek, an apparently good time for entry given that we saw very little traffic ahead of us throughout the 4-hour journey (we stopped three times for Man with Hat to fish). The take-out at Moccasin Creek at 3 pm was a different story - clearly it was a key launching time for the rafting companies - at least a dozen craft hovered creekside while loading up tourists lathered in sun cream and bug repellent!

(Internet)

But I have skipped 4 hours of beauty, so let me re-wind!

A picturesque wilderness whitewater river offers many opportunities to the boater.  Splendid views.

Fishing.

This Pike Minnow was a feisty fellow

Flowers.

Upper Middle: Oxeye Daisy; Lower Middle: Harebell; Lower Right: Pearly Everlasting

Upper Right: Nodding Onion; Lower Right: St. Johnswort

Peace.

Linking to

All Seasons


Mosaic Monday


Nature Notes

Saturday's Critters

Skywatch Friday

Wandering Camera