Mystery Plant

Three weeks ago we started noticing a plant blooming in the wetlands away from the driveway. I used my binoculars to look at it to see what it was. We first thought it was a butterfly bush, but realized the leaves and blossoms were wrong for that. Finally my husband waded into the tall grass and briars to spray bittersweet, briars and mile a minute and picked a stalk of the plant.

Does anyone know what it is? Is it an aster?

Birds are back.

During the summer I took down the birdfeeders because the deer were making them a regular stop. As a consequence I didn't see any chickadees or titmice all summer. The woodpeckers flew through occasionally as did some goldfinch. When I put back up the feeders I wondered how long before the birds found them again. They must have been keeping watch because they were back the very next day. So how do they know? Do they communicate that with each other and between species?

This is the nest of the wren who built it in my hanging plant. It's like a little cave.