Fall back/Spring Forward

I thought it would be fun to post some of my last local photos of fall, tailgated by my first photos of spring. Here we are walking in a magical golden forest. A.K.A. Robert's Bird Sanctuary in Minneapolis.

And indeed, we saw birds! The best darn birds the mid-west has to offer. In fact, I just read in the paper that Minnesota has the highest number of nesting pairs in the United States. 

Robert's bird Sanctuary on a vibrant sunny day. 

Sunny fall petals.

Flash forward to spring. We're out and about again. This time we traveled to the wilds of Wisconsin. My old stomping grounds. Shed hunting. This was our only find. 

But we discovered other things. Leftovers from two brutal crime scenes. Bleached skulls, scattered teeth, old bones and lots of matted fur. A deer skeleton. Two in fact. Something was hungry.

I was intrigued by the wiggly skull patterns. 

Quiet beauty. 

I left these for a hunter to discover. 

Spring babies have arrived! We discovered 3 Great Horned Owlets at Lake Hiawatha. Score! Actually, it isn't a secret. The parks have the area blocked off. But I was still able to zoom in and get a shot. My favorite of spring so far. 

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Fall Beauty

Brown

Moonshine.  From The Moon of my Life and My Sun and Stars category over at My 3rd Eye  If you haven't heard of those quotes then you don't watch Game of Thrones!

Stunning Yellow

I didn't always have my camera on most of my walks this fall.  You start to leave it behind and it becomes a pattern. I missed the most glorious and spectacular sunset two weeks ago at Lake of the Isles.  Heartbreaking! But I brought it on this neighbor hood stroll during peak season.  All I know is that fall colors seem to get prettier every year.  But I think it is just because I'm old enough to appreciate nature's beauty.  

Glorious Red

Red vines.  And not the licorice kind.

The last digit is an odd number. Literally!  Or that wood pecker is doing a number on that garage.  Hee, hee.  I can't believe his head is in focus when he was hammering at a 100 beats a second.  Or something like that.

Glossy, stunning, red

The burning bush.

Now most of the leaves are on the ground, composting and turning to brown.  As with all beauty in life it is fleeting.   Enjoy it while you can.

Saturday's Critters

Bird d'Pot
Wild Bird Wednesday

The Signs of Fall

Dragonflies are dragging their feet about leaving.

The red berries are ready for migrating birds.  (although I have no idea if they eat these)

 Mushrooms are exploding onto the scene.  This one was the size of a dinner plate.

 People heart Fall.  

We're all talking turkey.  (And eating.  Hee, hee.)

Yellow leaves sparkle in the sun.

There are so many mushrooms you could say they grow on trees.  

Now if we could just say the same about money. 

The wild flowers lose their petals.

The views are tinged with rust and gold.  Just like life.  

All these photos were taken at Westwood Hills and Spring Lake Park this Fall.  For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday

And for more turkeys......take a gander below.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Selfie

O.K.  Obviously this isn't a selfie of me.  And I didn't take it.  My husband was mountain biking and took a selfie of the beautiful fall colors in Wisconsin.  Pretty cool.

Tomorrow the theme is Taste.  Yum.  A theme after my own heart.