At this time of year, my wife Susan and I are glad we are NOT on vacation. Why leave paradise in West Nyack? The vegetable garden is producing a bountiful crop, especially of cucumbers and tomatoes. Arriving guests are told that they must take away some fresh produce. Many song birds are fairly quiet these days, but the dog-day cicada chorus is steady. Hummingbirds visit cardinal flowers and jewelweed blossoms. The cicadas are still going at about 8 p.m., then we hear the first katydids and crickets.
Some evenings, about 8:30, I go to watch the sky over our yard and gardens, and am
sometimes rewarded with the dodging, darting dance of a little brown bat, chasing moths. And the night can bring a mix of sounds: the delightful "whinny" of a screech
owl, or the worrisome howls, barks, and yips of coyotes. A mom coyote and her young seem to be in the neighborhood quite a bit--so far not seen but those sounds are unmistakable, and scary. We make sure the three cats are in for the night!
Some evenings, about 8:30, I go to watch the sky over our yard and gardens, and am
sometimes rewarded with the dodging, darting dance of a little brown bat, chasing moths. And the night can bring a mix of sounds: the delightful "whinny" of a screech
owl, or the worrisome howls, barks, and yips of coyotes. A mom coyote and her young seem to be in the neighborhood quite a bit--so far not seen but those sounds are unmistakable, and scary. We make sure the three cats are in for the night!