I refuse to accept the truth. Therefore, I will live in a state of denial. Care to join me?

It’s hard to believe summer is ending. How did Labor Day get here so quickly? Wasn’t it yesterday that I posted about the Ruby-throated hummingbirds starting their spring migration up North? Soon I’ll be writing about their trek back to sunny Florida.

Over the past weeks I’ve been blessed with their constant activity at the nectar feeders. I’d sit out on my porch during the waning sunlight and watch their darting flight. A show worthy of an Oscar.

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There were times two hummers wanted the feeder at the same time. They may be tiny but, boy, are they territorial.

Other times another songbird would crave a sweet drink. (Look carefully. See him?)

See him now?

I’ll miss these little emerald gems when autumn arrives.

Thank goodness the fall is still weeks away!

The summer days brought activity across the river. My great blue heron took a liking to dead tree. She’d spend entire afternoons watching over her domain from her high perch.

Although, she’d hit the water for lunch and dinner.

A friend gave me a cobalt blue bird bath which a chickadee quickly approved.

My flock of mallards acquired a stranger. A domestic duck joined the flock but he didn’t last long. After a week he wa gone. Nobody seemed to notice.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just one of the flock.”

At the beginning of August, a hen came by with a duckling.

Better late than never, I guess.

When I was a little girl, I loved hot summer days so I could play in the sprinkler. Ducks are no different.

My summer days were filled with the wonders that only living on a river provides. As the season comes to an end, I’ll say farewell to the flowers, the fish, the crickets singing at night, the bats performing their silent aerial dances, and the colors of nature.

Goodbye, sweet lady, I’ll see you next year. Blessed be :}

(Yes, I know today is October first. I’m in denial, remember?)