The other markers of the changing season: the Harvest Moon rising out of the Ocean, and the sunrise starting more southward every day. We are so blessed to be able to enjoy them from our windows.
And the peregrine falcons return. I can see them swoop along the bluff, and chase them at Low Beach. Speaking of which...all the seals seem to be at Low Beach! When I hiked there on October 4, I saw hundreds in the ocean and the huge hump of the older seals on the beach. But at Great Point on October 5, there were no seals on the point. There were a few seals swimming along the harbor side harassing the fishermen. One bit a false albacore off a fisherman's line!
As the moors get more brown as the scrub oaks fade, I can depend on the goldenrod and aster for color. Tthe downy goldenrod (solidago puberula) is glowing, along with the stiff asters (aster linariifolius) and the late purple aster (aster patens). The bushy aster (aster dumosus) is still blooming. The seaside goldenrod (solidago sempervirens) is out in full at Great Point. At Polpis and at Low Beach, the slender fragrant goldenrod (solidago tenuifolia) is out, while it has faded elsewhere. There was even a field of sickle-leaved asters (chrysopis falcata) at Low Beach, which is well gone on the moors.
