Sunset

I walked today to the West Sayville Country Club Golf Course. The above photo was taken at the Long Island Maritime Museum on property that borders the West Sayville Country Club.  I didn't have my camera with me, so I just used my cellphone camera to capture this serene sunset scene.

Monarch Butterflies in Heckscher State Park

 

At Heckscher State Park this morning, I saw swarms of migrating monarch butterflies. Many of them were making pit stops at the the fields of goldenrod that border the beach area of Parking Field 6.  While observing the many butterflies fueling up on goldenrod for their journey south, I was reminded of a poem which I think sums up the magic of autumn days.

Song of Early Autumn

(excerpt of a poem by Richard Watson Gilder )

When late in summer the streams run yellow,

—Burst the bridges and spread into bays;

When berries are black and peaches are mellow,

—And hills are hidden by rainy haze; 

When the goldenrod is golden still,

—But the heart of the sunflower is darker and sadder;

When the corn is in stacks on the slope of the hill,

—And slides o'er the path the stripèd adder;

When butterflies flutter from clover to thicket, 

—Or wave their wings on the drooping leaf;

When the breeze comes shrill with the call of the cricket,

—Grasshopper's rasp, and rustle of sheaf;

Flycatcher in Connetquot River State Park

Today I saw in the Connetquot River State Park this flycatcher. I didn't have my zoom lens with me, but he came close enough for me to get a decent shot.

Migrating Monarch Butterflies

The monarch butterflies are now migrating. While walking today on the boardwalk that leads to the lighthouse at Robert Moses State Park, I saw a slew of them fluttering through the air and snacking on goldenrod blossoms. Traveling at 50 to 100 miles a day, it could take these butterflies as much as two months to reach their final destination of the Oyamel fir forests in Mexico.