Late Summer's Pollinators

As we approach the autumnal equinox, five days away, fall's coming has been advertized for some weeks now. Swamp maples blaze, and leaves blow behind each passing car. Geese cluster and fly in formation. Bluebird families congregate, their soft chirping evoking their image as they return to their fledgeling grounds and socialize. Nights grow cool, and the sun dims.
About the yard and gardens our few vegetables grow less productive, and mums, asters, kale, and heavy-headed sunflowers begin to dominate garden colors. Inspection of our wildflower garden shows that late summer's pollinators, while slowed, continue to plunder the nectar and pollen of a variety of blossoms in need of fertilization. In the photo above, a carpenter bee (lower left), a bumble bee (center), and two honey bees near the end of their day's toil just about covered in essential pollen, which is both necessary for next year's seed and for overwintering pollinators.