October 6, 2025
Very cloudy to start the day. At some point, an extremely brief shower came through, just enough to leave the deck beaded with rain. The air smells like damp earth. Long grey clouds adorn the pale blue sky.
Partial clearing now and the sun is peeking between the clouds. The weather radar is splattered with small patches of green, so it may start raining again at any moment. The forecast is saying rain again tomorrow and then cooler temperatures to follow. I welcome the change.
Woolly Bears Tell Tall Short Tales
I found my first woolly bear of the season! I always loved these little guys as a child. So fuzzy! It is said you can predict the harshness of the coming winter based on their coloring. Sadly, however, I couldn’t find any evidence that this is actually true. Long range forecasts tend to be a gamble, even for meteorologists or established publications like the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It’s difficult to see any banding on this specimen… perhaps its not a woolly bear after all? Interestingly, their “hairy spines”, while not poisonous, can cause skin irritation in some people.
I also learned that these bushy creatures are the caterpillar stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella).1 This makes sense of course, but I had never actually thought about it. Caterpillars are typically associated with spring and summer, not autumn (amazingly, this species can survive being frozen!). And I guess I never got past the, “It’s cute!” reaction long enough to wonder what kind of insect it was (sorry if bugs gross you out). In adulthood, they grow into lovely yellow to orange moths that have a 5-6 cm wingspan. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in their adult form.
Hawks Soar Overhead
Yesterday (Oct. 5th) around noon, the hawks that live here on the top of the hill were making a racket. Squawking and screeching overhead as if something absolutely unspeakable had happened. There were at least four of them, landing high in the upper branches and then taking flight again. I never did figure out the cause for the ruckus.
I tried my best to identify the species and after much image comparison, I believe they were Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus)2. This is based on coloring, banding on the feathers, as well as tail and wing shape during flight. They were quite obviously not Red-Tailed Hawks, as their tails were not red. Unfortunately, I was not close enough to get a good photo, only grainy video of the large birds swooping in and out of the trees. A few days later I saw yet another hawk that looked noticeably different, and so at this point I can only conclude that there are very likely more than one species of hawk roosting here.
You can see the leaves are still quite green, even though it’s October.
October 7, 2025
Dense misty clouds hang low over the city, obscuring the view of the western hills. Tiny droplets streak across the window panes to create delicate patterns. The sound of softly falling rain in combination with the dimmed daylight makes for a soothing and restful atmosphere. I love rainy days like this!
The wind is calm. It seems everything outside has gone quiet, not so many humans bustling about, driving their noisy cars up and down the hill. No sirens blaring, just a few bird calls to fill the moments when the precipitation stops. I need more calm days like this, when time seems to slow down. There is always beauty to behold in nature, even in the rain.
- Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella ↩︎
- Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-shouldered_hawk
Cornell Lab: All About Birds – https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id ↩︎