29 October

 Sunday morning in the Forest and Wetlands.  The season advances:  Mount Arrowsmith is beginning to draw on its seasonal snowpack;  the water level in the marsh is rising; and the waterfowl are arriving at the marsh's south end.  

The forest floor is now carpeted with leaves, mostly maple:


The mushroom population along the path continues to grow.


The bracken fern is dying back.



A hairy woodpecker investigated a mossy log.


The woodpeckers' stump continues to shrink, but now has acquired a fringe of mushrooms at its base. 




The water level in the marsh continues to rise.


We heard and saw a flock of ducks at the south end of the marsh, but they evaded my camera.


(They're down there, somewhere...)




  
At first I thought I was seeing smoke at the south end of the marsh, but it was more likely mist arising from frost thawing, heating, and rising.
  


The good news is that it dispersed without showing flames.

Mount Arrowsmith is now adorned with snow.  


The snowpack is likely to shrink in the coming weeks, although there is more rain and cold temperatures forecast.  

The flights of swans, geese, and raptors of past weeks did not materialise this visit, but a marsh wren made its presence known, vocalising and then, as a very obliging little bird, posing for photos.




We moved on, back into the forest, 


looking forward to what we'll see on our next visit.



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