Thievery and an Award

O put out corn at 9:30 this morning.

By 11:30, it was gone! We wondered who the thief could be.
The corncob feeder is on the American Linden tree on the left of the weekly photo.(More on the robber later.)

Every week, I panic (just a little) that I'll have nothing to write about. Then I walk outside.

The asters have exploded this week,

in white,

and lavender,

and purple.

I passed some goldenrod and wondered if Sideshow Bob's hair was inspired by this plant.

A garden toad, buried in the mud.

The paw paws failed this year – the flowers formed, then inexplicably disappeared. We won’t know if these tall persimmon trees fruited till the leaves all fall.

We planted a Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) tree years ago.

Now there are dozens of volunteers coming up as root sprouts. All parts of the tree are pleasantly aromatic and are used by a variety of wildlife, including birds, deer, beaver, bear ('though sadly not here), rabbits, and small mammals. The leaves are unique, coming in three forms: oval, tri-lobed, and mitten-shaped.

We try to stick to native trees--trees that naturally occur in our area--but sometimes we fall in love and plant something just a tad out of our range.

This is a Striped Maple, aka Moosewood, aka Acer pensylvanicum. We befriended some large specimens in the U.P. and had to have one here. This is its third year and it's handling Ohio's heat okay. I get upset by non-natives that take over an area at the expense of native plants. . . but in cases like this, I kind of understand why Europeans brought their favorites with them.

The river is low.

We use the gravel bar as a sort of gauge.
Most of the year, it's completely underwater.

While walking through the yard, I heard a series of repeated THUDs. I couldn’t figure it out at first, then saw one as it fell.

A Black Walnut, Juglans nigra

They were falling by the dozen. No wind, really, it was just their time. Some broke open as they hit the earth.

Buckeyes continue to fall, too. Like ball bearings in a cartoon, this landscape is potentially treacherous.

We saw a flash of hawk along the riverbank yesterday. It was small and probably an accipiter, most likely a Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperii.

Upon finding these Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura ) feathers this morning, I was sure of the Cooper’s ID.

I was confident that I had the “Find of the Week” with this Thread-legged Bug. Had he been on a tree or limb instead of a shed wall, I’d never have seen him.

Previously thought to be a Walking Stick, Steve at Lure of the Living corrected me. Thanks, Steve!

My award was short-lived. O found this Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) in the driveway and we agreed we had a tie.

No bigger around than my index finger, it’s a common snake, but not often seen due to its size, coloration and underground lifestyle.

Oh, the corn thief!

T'was an Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), putting away food for the winter.

He would scurry up the tree, grab a couple of cheekfuls, then run back down, wherein he ran into his hole and came out, empty-jowled. Winter could come any day now, as far as this guy is concerned.