Daylight Savings

The Kid has managed to find a part time job and in these tough times, this is good. But the job requires that dad drop him off at 6-o'-freakin'-clock in the morning, on the weekend, which in November and subsequent months especially, is not so good.

What to do but brew up a batch of lemonade and take the opportunity to get some morning photography done. I've been wanting to do this for some time anyway. Saturday I tried the Quabbin...

Once you're up and out there, crisp air in the lungs, steaming cup of coffee in hand, camera on stand-by and glasses fogged up, you can begin to appreciate the nuances of a world slowly waking up.

I'm a big fan of the sunset, but they say as far as picture taking goes dawn light is just as good if not better than dusk light. More yellowy-pinky, less orangey-reddy.

Dawn generally just gets less camera play as it requires a suspension of instinct to wake up in the dark and cold. (my instinct, anyway.) But we pulled it off and Sunday I went for round two at my favorite of favorite places to loaf in the woods, Arcadia. This time much closer to the critical hour and much more hurried, thanks to Daylight Savings.

It was just about as cold as Saturday and even though it was cloudy both mornings and the sun took it's time both days, when it finally did break through...

...Blammo.

Everybody up. Fauna...

...and Flora, all surviving and struggling in the sudden lock-up of nature without warmth...

...and humans too, maybe struggling a bit less with the help of their crazy automations.

One thing I noticed photography-wise in these two mornings is that there seems to be a little less less time to get about and look for things to shoot as opposed to sunset. Once that sun is up it seems to go very quickly from that fresh yellowy glow to the standard harsh bright white of the day.

But maybe I'm just groggy.

Cold Lunch

A brisk Sunday morning as I made an unusually early start to the day to run some errands. After that, a couple hours were freed up to check out Arcadia, and go a huntin' for wildlife...



The clouds had rolled in by the time I got there, portending the forecasted rain, even though the temps were still wayyyy below freezing. Out in the meadows, small flocks of Juncos were fanned out, hiking around the frozen grasses looking for tidbits.



While along the edges, bare red-topped sumac were being poked and plucked by fast moving chickadees.





None of them would stay put for more than a couple of seconds, especially with a human nearby pointing some clicking device at them.





For all the cold, the birds were abundant and active, old and young alike.



There's not much food to be had now, but always just enough.



All the usual suspects were out and about, trying to find it. Also seen but unable to get a decent shot of was a red bellied and downy woodpecker, and a riled blue jay calling out his alarms...

Silently gliding high above the fray, a couple of swans soared by.



The bird nesting boxes in the main field at Arcadia seem to have been taken down; probably for a little refurbishment while the swallows and bluebirds are away, I assume. Although there are some other boxes left in a nearby clearing.



Cardinals are easy to spot, but not as easy to approach. I managed to get close enough to this guy, watching me carefully from under the safety of a thicket. Their super-bright red feathers contrast beautifully with the blanket of snow, and seem to accentuate the cold of winter.



With that encounter, I began my snow-crunching way back.

Just as I was almost back at the vehicle, and relishing the thought of a little heat on my frozen toes, (very little heat)....



...a flock of cedar waxwings suddenly came swooping in and landed on a small tree right nearby, providing one last photo opportunity...



With those black and white masks across the eyes, and the waxy color-tipped feathers, they're among the coolest looking birds to be found, in my opinion.



That was a fortuitous finish to the hike. With noon approaching and the grey sky getting greyer, it was time to get back.

Wet, Yes. Undaunted, Yes.

A rainy Saturday drive over Mount Tom into Easthampton brought on a craving for some woodsy trekking at good ol' Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, even if it's a wet trek.



Ok, I get it. Summer's over.



Whatever the wintry half of the year wants to throw our way, so be it...

A big broad golf umbrella kept in the car provides shelter enough during the heavy spurts of rain that were coming down, and interchanging with light drizzle every few minutes.



Never really getting dry, but often subsided enough to fold the umbrella back up for a few minutes for a better look around, and easier maneuvering into the woods.



One advantage about the leave-less-ness of the trees is that you can more easily see what wildlife there is still stirring above. It was easy to follow the knocking sound to this red bellied woodpecker.





Most of the birds, (robins mainly, with a few blue jays and chickadees) were hanging out and chirping away lively enough, in couples and groups in their variously picked trees; while out in the nearby meadow there wasn't as much going on at all...



Then back into the woods again, looking for any stirrings by the river; but by now the rain was falling steady and heavy, and the semi-enclosed bird blind up ahead was looking pretty inviting.







The quiet seclusion of the bird blind has been attracting visitors with other interests besides natural wildlife viewing. I can see the blind being an attractive late night hangout spot for some so-motivated youth; but it wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't always a vandal or two in the mix.



I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend; it'd be a real shame if they had to shut the blind down...

Speaking of wild youth, this young hawk nearby was looking a little ruffled with the rain, but still wary.



Not a moment to spare when on the lookout for food. Winter's coming fast and the easy living is pretty much over.



A lesson to leave Arcadia with...

Spiders

On the Sturbridge/ Brimfield line there's a wooded spot called the Leadmine Wildlife Management Area. And in part of that area is a short wooded path called the Heins Farm tail, where I happened to find myself strolling Monday afternoon.



It's a short easy trail on the edges of that farm, with a small wetlands area in the middle of the loop. Nothing too challenging, and fine for spending a quick, peaceful hour or so on such a warm November day.

The forests' winter transformation is just about complete, with animal and plantlife getting hard to come by...





There's faded signs of the passed season, with some hanger's on here and there...



...and evidence of a summer's worth of critter habitation...



...but now, nobody's home.



It was back at my own house again where I am usually able to get a close up of wild-life. This critter's been living out by the porch for several months, usefully earning her keep keeping less-useful insects away from us.



As far as bugs go, I'm partial to spiders...



They're not pretty, but darn useful.

I hope she stocked up, because Orion is on the rise again, and I'm sure the spider realizes the warm spell is probably just a final parting shot.



The real November will soon be ushering in another span of bitter cold and long, dark nights.



The spider will have to hunker down like the rest of us, and ride it out...



...we'll be needing her again in the spring.