A fall morning

Brilliant blue skies, low humidity, and a temperature less than 50° F make a perfect fall morning. The last hummingbirds are coming through, taking a break at our feeders and the coral honeysuckle flowers.

Monarchs are traveling south too, visiting whatever nectar-rich flowers they can find as they head towards Mexico. The butterfly standbys of Buddleia and Lantana are dotted with orange in midday. I saw this monarch last year about this time.

A pair of bluebirds flew to one of the big oaks as I walked up the hill to the office this morning, along with the usual mockingbirds, blue jays, and brown thrashers.

And the leaves of red maples and sourwoods are turning red.