It's finally October!

It’s dreary and rainy, and the air is chilly, if not quite all the way into raw, today. I love it!  This feels exactly the way October should feel.  Of course, if the weather was like this for the entire month, I wouldn’t love it so much, but after the first week of the month when  temperatures was in the 80’s, I’m relieved to have everything back to normal again.

This is the kind of weather that gets all kinds of waterfowl moving south.  This is the kind of day when flock after flock of Canada geese will feel the urge to fly, the kind of day that reminds me the juncos will arrive soon. Winter is coming, after all.

This year I have a bumper crop of beech and hickory nuts, as well as acorns, around the cabin. They are falling off their trees, now.   When the big beech nuts land on the cabin roof, they land with a pop and then more noise as they roll down the pitched roof.  The noise always sets Baby Dog to barking.  Apparently, she thinks we are being attacked.  The nuts make quite a racket, and I’m awfully glad none have landed on my head when they fall.  At least not yet.

Most years I gather up the hickory nuts to eat, though sometimes the squirrels get to them before I can, so I don’t always end up with many that are fit to eat.  Right now, the deer that are living just off the edge of my driveway are enjoying their bounty, too. The oaks are providing plenty of acorns for the deer, though I can’t honestly say any of them look fat from them.

Activity at my feeders is picking up, too, with nuthatches, titmice and chickadees the most regular visitors.  That, as much as anything, is a sure sign the weather is turning towards cold weather.

The deer are out again

One of the signs of fall that I’m not happy to see again is the deer rut. Deer are out and about all over the place. At night it’s particularly dangerous to be driving. Deer are more likely to be crossing the road, buck are chasing the doe, and they all seem to be looking for a party.

Last night a doe and a fawn from this year bounced across the road in front of me. I stopped and waited. I know this doe. I know she has a second fawn, and sure enough the second fawn finally realized mom and sibling were moving and rushed out of the brush to rejoin its family.

Over the years I’ve developed a few techniques to avoid hitting deer that has so far held me in good stead. I try to use my high beams on the car whenever I can, even if it’s not dark enough to actually need them. The high beams give me a wider view of the sides of the road and will often pick up the eye shine of deer long before they bounce across the road.

When I see a deer, which happens virtually every time I am out of the cabin after dark, I stop and wait for it to cross the road. After it crosses, I wait another few seconds. It’s amazing how many times there’s at least one deer more bringing up the rear.

My photo today is an old hickory tree that grows at the end of my lane. This year it’s producing a large amount of hickory nuts, which I am gathering as quickly as I can chase the squirrels away from it. Cracking hickory nuts takes a lot of work—I use a hammer on a stone. The results are worth it, though. The nuts taste like butterscotch. Try adding the pieces to cookies. You won’t be disappointed.