Morning after

The storm was loud with wind-driven rain through much of the night.  Now all is quiet and wet.  The creek is brown but placid.  At least two white throated sparrows are still here.  A cardinal came out for breakfast.  Sweet gum flowers are all over the ground.  I wonder if the storm disrupted pollination?  I would not weep if there were few gum balls this fall.

A pair of bedraggled goldfinches just came to the feeder.  The male's black cap isn't quite right.  They both look a bit green - rough flight?  Actually, I suppose the male is molting into mating colors. Later, two egrets flew upstream, then back the other way, startling white against the green leaves.

At lunch, there were moments of sun but now it is back to gray.  A breeze comes and goes.  I need to reposition the birdhouse because the wind slid it out toward the tip of the branch.  Cardinals, house finches, and chickadees have visited, and a female nuthatch has still not migrated. A great blue heron followed by a great white egret flew upstream low to the water.  Geese and crows, of course, have made themselves known.

The sky continued overcast till around sunset when suddenly it turned pink.  Had I been willing to run down to the dock, it might have been spectacular since the water was so calm.