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I know I've talked about this before, but it's worth repeating: The area encompassing Ballard Park and Gooseneck Cove is my spiritual home. It's the center of my universe, the place where my soul finds rest. And when the time comes, it will be where my soul goes home to; I've left instructions that when I die I want my ashes scattered there, some in the Quaking Aspen grove in the Quarry Meadow in Ballard Park, and the rest in Gooseneck Cove at Hazard Rd.

I know, that sounds maudlin and even morbid, but Autumn always triggers this sort of instinctive "homecoming" feeling in me. It's when I wrap my world around me like a warm, comforting security blanket. So here's yet another tribute to my "crust of earth".

And Paul Robeson singing the old spiritual "Going Home" (Dvorak's setting) is the perfect cap to this post. Enjoy!

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

All Over the Place on Sunday

We're back to a regular schedule on the biweekly Sunday bird walks; Jay Manning, our Fearless Leader, is back now that his ruptured Achilles tendon has healed. We were back out at Sisson's and St. Mary's Ponds this week (where Mark and I went last Sunday on our own) and saw cruising Northern Harrier hawks, American Black and Ruddy Ducks, Green-winged Teal, a Cooper's and a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a couple of Northern Flickers, a ton of Robins, and a lot of small Fall and Winter Sparrows. I didn't get any bird shots, but I got the following shots of the environs: (top to bottom) the shore of Sisson's Pond; some of the the bird walk gang (the rest were behind me); and the fields and woods between Sisson's and St. Mary's Ponds.

Back into Newport, and I made a beeline for Ballard Park and Gooseneck Cove. The park still isn't doing much overt Fall color; the only things really changing color are the Devil's Walking Stick trees and the Virginia Creeper vines. The view from the Joseph Cotton Overlook, over the swamp looking toward Brenton Rd., is showing great promise, though. Here are some shots: (top to bottom) two views from the Joseph Cotton Overlook; Devil's Walkingstick (Aralia spinosa) leaves; Virginia Creeper leaves.

Gooseneck Cove, on the other hand, gets more colorful by the day.

On the way home I stumbled across this patch of Swamp Aster.

And that was my Sunday!

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Beautiful Fall Day

As promised yesterday, I went down to my spiritual home today. It's been a beautiful day - cool (but not as cool as yesterday), dry, sunny with a slight skim of clouds overhead (we're getting rained on tomorrow), and a nice breeze. Gooseneck Cove showed its autumnal best in these conditions.

Ballard Park is a different story, though. The Fall Asters are starting to fade, but the leaf colors aren't coming in to take their place quite yet. I guess that's another effect to chalk up to this year's weird weather. Still, all was not lost; I climbed the path to the top of the Quarry rim and got this shot looking toward the ocean, overlooking the Gooseneck Cove watershed. Nice view, huh?

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

An Intimate Sunday Constitutional

At least, the photos I got today on my weekly long walk felt more intimate than usual - macros of mushrooms and flowers in Ballard Park, and wading birds hiding in the marsh grass on Gooseneck Cove.

[Note: For those of you who saw the warning earlier - I'm back up and running on the Internet. That tech support guy was as incompetent as I'd suspected. When I got back from the hike and after I'd had lunch, I came in here to discover that my Internet connection was just fine; it had been an outage on the local Verizon network, not my modem. So I'm back to normal!]

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Sunday in the Park

I got up extra early this morning to get down to Gooseneck Cove to meet up with the usual early morning birders. There wasn't much to see; we're kind of in a transition period between the Summer waders and shore birds leaving and the Winter waterfowl arriving. I ended up chasing rumors of a Black Skimmer with my friend Mark, but we never did see it.

In the end, I went to Ballard Park, set the camera to Super Macro mode, and went snooping. This is what I found.

White Wood Aster

Foragers on some late-blooming Canada Thistle.

Some leaves doing their autumnal show a little early.

A Bumblebee doing her gathering thing on some Goldenrod.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Theme Thursday - Reason

Some of the reasons why I love living here in Newport:

The ocean along the Cliff Walk

Foggy days at the beach

Walking the trails in Ballard Park

Gooseneck Cove's salt marsh at Hazard Rd.

When it came to music videos for this week's Theme Thursday, the first thing that popped into my mind was Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe". I chose the original version with Tim singing over Rod Stewart's admittedly better selling one because (a) I can't stand Rod Stewart, and (b) because I think what Stewart did to this beautiful song was an abomination. I know, I'm a heretic. Then again, I've made a career of heresy.

The other song that occurred to me was another old favorite - Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason". No need for choosing between original or cover versions of this one; nobody could ever do this song like Tracy. Enjoy!

Photos & text © 2009 & 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Mellow Sunday

I went wandering again today, and this is what I saw.

The first early White Wood Asters blooming in Ballard Park along the Southwest Trail. Fall is coming.

The moderate breeze made music, rustling the Quaking Aspen leaves in the quarry.

An immature Little Blue Heron feeding in Gooseneck Cove (yes, the young'uns are white!).

An immature Snowy Egret (left) and the immature Little Blue Heron (right) hanging out together in Gooseneck Cove.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Friday Walkabout

A few scenes from today's hike.

Gooseneck Cove at high tide.

Along the Twin Ledges Trail in Ballard Park.

The decorative wall around Harbour Court, the home of the Newport annex of the New York Yacht Club.

The Newport municipal pier at high tide.

The Sail Newport sailing class came ashore at King Park for a picnic.

And I'll close with a little humor:

"Whinin' Boy, I don't deny my name". One of this year's Herring Gull hatchlings (the brown one to the right) literally whining at the adult to be fed. Which reminded me of this song:

Photos & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Ballard Park Organics

Two interesting macros from Ballard Park today.

Remains of a Red-tailed Hawk back in a shaded spot in the Quarry.

Mushrooms along the Valley Trail.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Moody Day

Overcast and just beginning to rain; just spits and spatters, nothing to break out the umbrella for just yet. This enhances the lush greens in both the forest in Ballard Park and the salt marsh in Gooseneck Cove. It creates a mood - dark, lush, mysterious, and downright primeval. The only things missing are the dinosaurs.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger