On September 9, I spent a sunny Sunday afternoon in the backyard. We are presently flirting with a three-day return to summer-like temperatures, but the blooms, the pollinators, and the visiting warblers have already left. I am sharing the memory of that afternoon in photographs.

I was delighted by the presence of a Nashville Warbler. I don’t get to see migrating birds in my yard too often, so it was great to just sit and become part of the landscape and observe the warbler and the pollinators on a beautiful afternoon.

I had planted some different goldenrod and asters last fall to see if they would stop the echinacea from taking over the entire back bed now that the shade of the truncated Ohio Buckeye is no longer a force to be reckoned with. After all the rain early in the spring, I have a formidable fortress of goldenrod and heath aster. I think the Nashville was foraging around in the Stiff Goldenrod.

Paper Wasp and Flies on the Showy Goldenrod

While I sat on my biggest new overturned yard waste container, I was fortunate to witness a quick visit from the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird below.

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a large grasshopper in the yard before but this one was having a good time.

Differential Grasshopper

The Nashville flew into my Scotch Pine from time to time.

The bees were savoring the last of the sunflowers that the birds and squirrels had planted.

Long-Horned Bees!

So here’s two more shots of my lovely little Nashville visitor.

Nashvilles were still present last weekend with the Yellow-Rumpeds and Palm Warblers for the tail end of an up-and-down fall warbler migration. With luck I will be back sooner than later with a report from last Saturday’s walk at Columbus Park.