It was a beautiful morning today, WED 01 NOV 2006. Here are a few of the birds, bugs and plants I saw around the Clyde Austin 4-H Center in Greene Co., TN. Northern Bobwhite - 2 that I heard calling, and a covey of 14 reported by a visitor Wild Turkey - 4 Brown Thrasher - 1 Tennessee Warbler - 1 Palm Warblers, including a very yellow one Vesper Sparrow - 2 (I also saw 2 near here two days ago) White-crowned Sparrows - 3 Savannah, Swamp, Field, Song, and White-throated Sparrows Common Grackles - A flock was feeding en masse on Southern Red Oak acorns, which rained down in pieces beneath them. The meat of the kernels was bright orange, and the one I tasted was not bitter like some other species in the red oak group. There were a number of butterflies out today, which surprised me after the hard freezes we had recently. Cabbage White Clouded Sulphur Orange Sulphur Sleepy Orange Variegated Fritillary Pearl Crescent (a conjugal pair) Common Buckeye Monarch Common Checkered-Skipper The two usual Fall dragonfly species were still around. Autumn (Yellow-legged) Meadowhawk Shadow Darner. Persimmons are getting real good now, Maypops and Ground Cherries are too, and Cranefly Orchid leaves have emerged for the winter. Broomsedge and Split-beard Bluestem have turned orange and red, respectively. American Bittersweet and European Spindle-tree have beautiful orange berries. The milkweed pods are opening. Don Holt Johnson City, TN ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.