Morris Island Autumn

Winter is finally closing in.  The new year is here.  The storms have spared us so far this season, but experience teaches that the cold of the north will visit soon.  Before the arrival of wind and snow, why not take a moment to look back on a walk taken during one of the mild days of October.  

Morris Island lies off the southern edge of Chatham.  A rustic trail leads through the marsh to the channel which separates Morris from the Monomoys.  We followed this narrow way through a corridor of Groundsel flowering white against our shoulders.         

pond in the marsh on Morris Island

The sky shown bright blue as we approached the west end of the island.  

looking west on approach to the channel between Morris and North Monomoy  

We stopped to look back to the east for a distant view of South Beach, a thin and fragile spit which extends several miles from the lighthouse in Chatham.

looking east across the channel to South Beach 

The upturned bill of this Hudsonian Godwit caught our attention and posed several minutes for photos.  Godwits breed in the arctic and winter in southern South America.  We were lucky this one chose the Cape as a rest area in the midst of his epic journey.  

Hudsonian Godwit

The trail home leads through a mixed forest.  

return path through the Wildlife Refuge 

At the parking lot a red-tailed hawk eyed our departure.  

Red-tailed Hawk

With memories of walks like these, it is easier to cope with the growing fear of the inevitable brutal winter winds.  Wishing all friends the strength to hold out till the balmy breezes of spring.