Look up
The moon is up in daylight this afternoon
Six days past new and 39 percent lit, the moon runs well ahead of the sun, so it is above the horizon the whole afternoon. Look for a pale white shape against the blue rather than a bright one.
80° / 64°Partly sunny, showers lateSunset 6:52 PM
The showers and the fog both wait for dark, so the afternoon is the clear half of today.
Now, 5 cards
Look closer
Blue jays and cardinals are finishing their yearly molt
In jays and cardinals the head feathers sometimes drop all at once, leaving bare black skin. Most are through that stage now and into the coat they will wear all winter.
Right outside
Today's daylight is 12 hours 24 minutes, the same as March 25
Sunrise 6:28, sunset 6:52. The last day with this much light was March 25, when the yard was still bare. Identical daylight, opposite direction of travel.
Go see
Autumn mushrooms at Nobscot in Sudbury, 3 this afternoon
The Boston Mycological Club walks the Nobscot woods for two hours, ten minutes from the middle of town. This is the one nature walk in the next fortnight that happens inside Sudbury itself.
Go see
A free plant identification walk at Horse Meadows Knoll, 10 this morning
Two and a half hours learning to read a meadow and its edges by leaf, fruit and growth habit, thirty minutes west in Harvard. Free with registration, and the plants are still standing at full height.
This Week, 5 cards
Coming soon
Tonight's rain is what sets next week's mushrooms going
A soaking can raise a flush of mushrooms two to ten days behind it, and a tenth to a quarter of an inch is forecast tonight. Pick one shaded spot today and photograph it before the rain lands.
Go see
Monarchs tagged by hand on Saturday, at Wachusett Meadow
Monarchs are caught, tagged and released on their way to Mexico, and a family gets to hold one. Saturday afternoon in Princeton, fifty minutes west, and it runs once a year.
Go see
Outdoor science in Discovery Woods, drop in Friday morning in Acton
One small patch of woodland examined with real tools instead of a field guide, run as a drop-in for all ages. Ten till twelve, free with museum admission, and it goes ahead unless the weather stops it.
Go see
The sunflowers are done at Verrill, and the cutting garden is what is left
The farm lists its pick-your-own cutting garden as running July through September, fifteen dollars for a reusable cup. The sunflower field is listed as finished for the year.
Go see
What actually lives in Walden Pond, free on Saturday afternoon
A ranger takes an hour and a half on the animals in the pond, then and now. Free to attend, though parking is eight dollars on Massachusetts plates and the lot does not accept cash.
Plan Ahead, 2 cards
Coming soon
A family hawk watch at Drumlin Farm on October 3, for ages 4 to 10
Ninety minutes of watching migrating hawks with a group, aimed squarely at young children rather than at birders. Family programs this size fill weeks ahead, which is why it is worth booking now.
Go see
A hike under October's darkest sky, at Wachusett Meadow on the 10th
The walk is timed to the new moon, when nothing washes out the stars. Fifty minutes west in Princeton, listed for adults and children over twelve, with registration.
That's what's worth noticing. Go have a look.