The birds and a wall

It may be officially autumn, but the local bird population looks pretty much the same: sparrows, sparrows, sparrows, with the occasional mourning dove, cardinal, nuthatch, etc. A hummingbird shows up almost daily, to sample the butterfly bush blossoms, then it hovers in front of the window where I sit, presumably admiring its reflection.

The sparrows are making good use of the birdbaths. There seems to be a ten bird limit to how many may be in the water at one time.

The house finches appear to be gone, yet something has been eating the safflower seed. Today I spotted the culprit: a chipmunk. I thought nobody cared for the safflower seeds except the finches and sometimes the sparrows, so it hung from an unprotected pole. I moved it to a baffled pole, although it may come down altogether if none of the birds are feasting there.

While we were in the Hudson Valley last week, we visited the town of New Paltz. I took this photo of what I presume is a row of clematis, one of them the late-blooming paniculata. Maybe someday mine will look like this.

We also visited the Storm King Arts Center, where we encountered Andy Goldsworthy's Wall. These field stone structures fascinate me.

Where there is open field, the Wall runs straight.

In the other directions, the Wall seems to disappear underwater, only to reappear across the pond.

Once on dry land again, the Wall twists and turns around the trees.

Goldsworthy is known for creating ephemeral works of art, some lasting only a few hours. This Wall will stand... for a while, until the trees grow large enough to displace it or a tree falls on it or the ground heaves, as "there is something that doesn't love a wall."

(Goldsworthy has written a companion book about the Wall, appropriately titled Wall.)