Notes
[October]
October First
This is the month when many of our birds depart for their southern winter resorts. The common ones that leave this week are the scarlet tanager, ovenbird, chimney swift, wood thrush, indigo bunting, and redstart.
October Second
The workers and drone bumblebees die at the approach of winter, but the queen takes shelter under the bark of trees, in stone piles and in other places which offer protection, where she remains all winter. She then comes out and gathers moss and grass for a nest, or she may appropriate the deserted nest of a meadow mouse. After making several wax cells, she fills them with pollen and honey, deposits an egg in each cell, and when the young hatch, they feed upon the sweets.
October Third
"'Among the crimson and yellow hues of the falling leaves, there is no more remarkable object than the witch-hazel in the moment parting with its foliage, putting forth a profusion of showy yellow blossoms, and giving to November the counterfeited appearance of spring.'" (Newhall.)