This was painted in late September as the wind began to stir up the welcome scent of fall and temperatures began to cool in South California. This warbler is one of my favorite fall visitors, and I took advantage of his monochromatic costume and the approaching October to create a Halloweenish theme.

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Ray Bradbury’s influence is evident in the title, Something Wicked This Way Comes. One can interpret as the moths thinking it. The warbler leaps in earnest hunger, never static, in a flurry of falling leaves, nuts, and insects, all of them indicative of the season.

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Most of the leaves are those of sweetgum, aspen and oak. Young lizards crawl inconspicuously (September in California is when the new lizards appear), moths repose in silent apprehension, and a jumping spider pauses forebodingly.