Red-Tailed Hawk.

10-4-14 SHORT HILLS: We just had about a half-inch of rain—I’m not sure because I dropped the gauge when I went to look. Now the sun is out. Almost all the ash leaves are down and the maples are starting to turn.

I worked on the terrace by the back door that had been untouched for forty years until a few weeks ago when I leveled a few flagstones that were askew from the sweet gum tree’s roots that grow underneath the terrace. Having done a few, I noticed that others were uneven so I bought three bags of construction sand and leveled out most of the problems. After this rain, I’ll see if any have moved again.

Judy has wanted a tree hydrangea for a long time. When we bought the sand, we found one on sale at Home Depot. It, Hydrangea paniculata, now lives in the yard near the red-twig dogwood.


I watched a hawk glide across our yard and settle into the top of this spruce. It's hard to see her/him until...

[S]he decides to leave showing a very red tail and revealing where in the tree [s]he was and what kind of hawk [s]he is.

One of these two blends into the foliage better than the other.

We have some color here.