Autumn Sky

I was feeling dispirited this morning, so called an old friend. I told him I was feeling so lousy that I wasn't even taking pictures. He challenged me to go outside and take just one photo today to see if it could lift my mood.

I accepted his challenge.

Autumn Sky over Polites Park

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Thank you, Paul. It helped!

Abandoned

Now that the kids are back in school, Kiwanis Park is no longer filled with the laughter of tots at day camp. No more climbing on the stumps to jump into the river.

Parents pairing sox are coming up short. It's not only the washer that eats the spares. Who needs them at the beach, anyway?

When the school bell rang, water sports stopped in mid-toss. Rocks on the shore of the Spokane River are all that's left to play catch.

Northern Flicker

I don't know much about birds, so was happy to find these fellows outside my window this morning. We had three new visitors to our Post Falls back yard. I found them hopping around with the robins, feeding on the ground. I've never noticed these long-beaked beauties in our yard before. It's likely these colorful flyers are male.

They are called the Northern Flicker and are a type of woodpecker. They are particularly fond of ants and dig into woody nests to find them. Unlike other woodpeckers, these birds nest in holes in the ground rather than in trees.

They typically nest at the edges of woodlands. Here in the Pacific Northwest, they are becoming more common in suburban habitats. Since my suburban habitat is on the edge of woodlands, I might be lucky to see these birds more frequently!