Saturday, September 21, 2019
The River Changes
We are approaching the end of September. The nights have fallen into the 60s which brings refreshing, cooler mornings. Since the river water holds the heat of the day, we are now getting a soft fog on the river before the heat of the sun can burn it off.
I notice that almost a dozen mallard ducks have moved into our little plot of grasses to seek harbor in the evenings. No matter how quietly I head to the dock they hear or see me long before I see them heading out to the other side of the river.
The menhaden have moved even further up into our river and when the air is calm and the surface of the water is almost mirrorlike you can see these fish, keystone species in the food chain of our coastal ecosystems, jumping and splashing, perhaps for air? The lowest oxygen is the early morning.
This activity brings in the seagulls flying like acrobats and our resident osprey in search of breakfast. The menhaden are fatter now. The osprey caught his!
It is a wonderful time to sit and wait for sunset with a friend or two.
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"We are approaching the end of September."
ReplyDeleteWhy do the best months of the year always seem like the shortest?
It is impossible to sneak up on ducks I’ve discovered.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful area there!
Beautiful environment and words
ReplyDeleteback when I was a river guide we would come across mama ducks who would tuck her little ones under some cane and then lead us away doing her broken wing act until she figured we were far enough away and then she would fly back upstream.
ReplyDeleteWow, you took a sunset so beautiful, thanks for the memory. And fog floating the river, wow wow wow wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely place, and time.
ReplyDeleteIt pays to get up early on the morning and see the day grow.
ReplyDeleteI remember times when blue fish chase the menhaden to the end of a creek causing large fish kill as they run out of oxygen.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to read all these familiar names....like Menhaden. My cousin was stationed aboard her. Ultimately she was the real Yellow Submarine.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun connection.
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