Late Summer Friends (Re-post from 2017)

Late Summer Friends 

  It's late in August and you can sense a change in the weather. The Temperature has dropped to the low eighties during the day and the nights have cooled off. Beautiful days with light breezes. The outer leaves on the ironwood trees have started to  turn red and the river birch leaves have been turning yellow and falling as quickly as the breezes push them loose. It's not fall yet and we will have plenty more warm days to enjoy before the inevitable blasts of winter.
  But you can feel a change coming and the birds and the animals sense it too. The humming birds are starting to fatten up for the long trek back to whatever tropical forest they are destined. The other birds are loading up at the feeders, we can hardly keep them full. The bluebirds have feasted on the meal worms and the rest are filling up on the milo, the sunflower seeds and whatever else is stuffed in their feeders.
  I don't know how old they grow to be, but I suspect that the mature ones know that there will be food here throughout the year. They will be fed in the rain, sleet, snow, ice, whatever. We love these little critters and though I believe God will provide for them, we get great pleasure in augmenting their daily provisions.