Earthy Crunchy Moments

In no particular order:

• E and I went for a light hike in the Squannacook River Wildlife Management area. We saw a garter snake that decided it didn't like E standing between it and the area it could blend into, and it struck (unsuccessfully) at him. We were both fascinated by the snake, and sad that it disappeared so quickly once we moved out of its way.
• The hornets are eating all of the hummingbird food that I put out. Every once in a while, a female hummingbird tries to come have some, but is pestered by the hornets and leaves after some chittering. Even putting out fresh food in a different feeder hasn't worked. It's the end of the summer, ladies and gentleman! Isn't that what the increase in hornets pestering means to you?
• I saw a doe and faun walk through the back yard while sitting on the deck. The faun was still very spotted, and looked healthy.
• The trees that turn colors early have already started. The maple out front is green and red and orange. In a nearby swamp, all of the swamp maples are fully red. Sign 2 that the summer's over!
• We have a black bear in the neighborhood. Our neighbor, D, saw signs of it a week ago. And we had it visiting our bird feeders one night! I'll blog about that soon...