Summer's last hurrah

It is sunny with a breeze. The temperature is predicted to reach 79 today and then drop down to the fifties tonight. Indeed, the thermometer touched 80 this afternoon! It is quite windy and most birds seem to be waiting for calmer air. A flotilla of geese swam down the creek and later a kingfisher flew upstream making its characteristic squawk all the way. It was flying higher than usual, maybe on account of the wind?

Nothing much is blooming now except camellias, and the rosemary which has attracted honeybees today. I wonder if this means the worst of colony collapse disorder is past? Only the dogwood, the hickory, and the redwood are turning fall colors and the dogwood is more brown than red. A few oak twigs have gone gold but overall, everything is a dusty and threadbare green. Oh, there is one rosebud and a lovely, golden rose hip.