Guess who!

Today when I walked down to the lower overlook, I spotted a chipmunk. A common occurrence. He saw me, too, and was wary - but then he started scrambling up into a bush! I thought maybe he was trying to get a higher vantage point to watch me from. I managed to get a photo of him but I got too close, and he fled. That's when I noticed what was at the end of that branch - gooseberries!

And not the little, smooth gooseberries I've been finding near the upper overlook. These gooseberries have prickles on their berries!

Some other berries - I'll have to look this one up. It may be Solomon's Seal, or it may be one of the lookalikes. *Edit* They are Rose Twisted Stalk. The berries are toxic except in small amounts.

This is definitely False Solomon's Seal. Some of the ones I saw were missing their berries - something's been eating them!

One little tree is getting a head start on the fall colors!

And then - the butterflies. The monarch butterflies were there again today. What a treat to be able to watch them gathering for the next leg of their journey as they migrate south toward Mexico!