Countdown to Fall – The Final Entry

The autumnal equinox began in the early morning hours today.  The sun rose and the day looked just like yesterday.  Well, that's the thing about seasons changing. They generally don't look, sound, smell and feel what we remember them to be until a few weeks in.

Since I began writing this short series the day before Labor Day, the sun has traveled a little more southward and is a little lower in the sky.  The south window in my main room is now getting direct sunlight, something it hasn't gotten since, well, March.  Our little bit of Sol, which is another name for our sun, rises later and sets earlier by almost 15 minutes each way now.  The days are cooler and will continue to cool and soon we'll start to bundle up in warmer clothes. Well, here in New York, anyway.

I thank all those who have been following the series.  It's gratifying to know that my inane musings in the theme of the change of seasons have been at least a little readable.

So, even if the world around you doesn't look like fall, perhaps never looks like the fall in the picture above, here in the Northern Hemisphere, it has arrived. Get out there and enjoy the day.

Countdown to Fall–The Final Observations of Summer

And so, as the sun sets on the final full day of summer, even though I can’t see it because it’s been cloudy all day, the sights I’ve seen show that, while things are still mostly green in my area, the summer solstice is definitely losing its grip on our physical reality.

It isn’t just the color changes which are slowly overtaking the shrubs and trees.  Plants which were thriving in the late summer have now matured and are dying back, some with roots that will survive to send up growth next year and some which have dropped seeds to begin again.  In their place, the fall asters, goldenrod, late morning glories and the like are giving us color which will also fade in a matter of weeks.  For those who mow, you probably have noticed and are thrilled that your lawn or experimental weed factory isn’t growing as quickly as it was just a few weeks ago.  Sure, just when you don’t work up a sweat during mowing, you don’t have to do it so much, although I do know one fanatic who mows right up until the first snow. 

As I noted earlier, the bird songs have diminished.  The migration has begun and a number of species have already begun the trip south.  In their place, the songs of the birds which remain year-round become more noticeable.  The variety of singers may be less, but their songs are still welcome.

There are several marinas nearby and boats are slowly being hauled out of the water and either prepped for winter storage or hitched onto pickups and taken home for the season.  The people hanging out at beaches aren’t swimming anymore.  The land activities now rule.  Home improvements to prepare for the cold are now in full swing.

Speaking of cold weather, the fuel oil trucks are starting to roll in greater numbers than they did just a month ago.  People are stocking up on wood and wood pellets as well.  They’re having all manner of house heating equipment serviced to make sure it starts and keeps going.  Everybody want to be prepared for that chilly morning when they can no longer avoid cranking the thermostat up just a few degrees.

The first day of fall will likely look a lot like today, although it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow in my area.  The changes which are occurring aren’t going to suddenly speed up just because September 23rd has arrived.  It might seem like it in some ways, but really, the season comes in on its own timetable.

Only 1 day until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – The Seasonal Clothing Conundrum

As temperatures slowly fall, we are starting to give thought to putting away the warm weather clothes and hauling out the cool weather styles.  Not the real cold weather stuff, mind you, as that's too much of a reality check.  If it's not snowing, you don't need to get out the insulated parka that will protect you down to -20°F just yet.

Thing is, the weather can still get quite warm and the clothing apparel this time of year has to run the gamut from short to long, from light to medium weight, and there is often a need for layering to allow for a cool morning warming into the afternoon and back down to chilly in the evening hours.  Judicious planning for the day can keep the summer wardrobe going for at least a few more weeks.

But there's something else.  There's a psychological aspect to giving in to washing, folding and putting away the summer duds.  To put the clothes away means that summer has really gone.  No more beaches, no more barbecues (I think I just heard a howl from the diehard BBQers), no more summer fun.  It's an admission that we're sliding toward cold weather and we're into the final months of yet another year.  We can say that we're simply making the most of all our wardrobe options by keeping out the tank tops, the shorts, even the sandals, when it's really a case of defying, or denying, the season ahead.  Each of us has their own timetable for when all the things that represent summer shall be stored away with a heavy sigh and heart until next we see them.

Mine's around the end of October – how about you?

Only 2 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Closing Down

A cold front passed through earlier today, bringing with it a fresh, hearty breeze and lower humidity.  It was wonderful and my longer than usual walk this morning was a delight.

However, my joy slowly diminished as the day went by.  The temperature in the very early hours of the morning was in the 70s.  As I write this at close to 3 in the afternoon, it’s now in the mid 60s and the breeze coming in the windows is getting more bracing than refreshing. 

I checked the forecast for the next couple of nights, and much as mid to high 40s and dry makes for better sleeping weather than low 70s and humid, it also makes for chilly surfacing from the covers first thing in the morning.  Brr, Baby.

And so, it begins.  The closing of windows to keep it warmer inside than out.  I only had six windows open to allow for cross-breezes.  I’ve now closed three and there may be one more shut down before I head for bed.  I really don’t want to.  It’s a concession that a) colder mornings have arrived and b) I’m not as young as I used to be and don’t tolerate the cold as well as previously.  It may be eye opening to feel at 5 AM, but it’s also cold on the toes.

However, to keep my denial going for a while longer, the screens and the fans which have sat in front of them all summer will not get put away just yet.  After all, the sun can still warm things and 70s and 80s are still possible, right?  Right?

Only 3 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Crickets in the Night

The sound of crickets outside is part of the night choir of August and September, with cricket sounds slowing down as the temperature decreases and then fading out entirely as fall progresses.  The male rubs his forewings together to make that chirping, done to attract a female, and the competition between the males for the lady cricket’s attention can be fierce.

It’s fine and dandy when it’s outside.  But, when they get inside, it’s another matter.  There are differing opinions as to whether crickets coming indoors is an accidental or deliberate action, assuming someone doesn’t actually want one as a pet.  There is also some question of how much of a nuisance they can be as house guests.  They don’t bite, but they do chomp on natural materials, things like clothes, books, etc.  However, their numbers inside tend to stay low, at least in my area, so that’s not really a problem, either. 

It wouldn’t be so bad if they were silent while inside, but they’re not.  One male cricket incessantly playing a love-sick song gets annoying after a while.  Two or more and it can very quickly become mind-numbing and not in a good way. 

Try to find them and put them outdoors or simply put them out of your misery?  Good luck with that.  Thinking you’re a predator, they go quiet when you get near them.  You can narrow down their location by being slow and light-footed, waiting for them to begin again, but that doesn’t mean you’ll catch them.  They’ve got the rapid retreat left, right and away almost down to perfection.

I had two male crickets wooing a female in the house this morning.  One was in the hallway behind a heavy table and one was in the bathroom behind the radiator.  Goodness knows where the female was, but the way they were going at it, she must have been midway between them.  I was glad I had to leave this morning because they were driving me nuts.  When I got home around noon, though, the noise had stopped.  Noise stopping doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve died or gone away.  It may have meant that someone won the dueling forewings competition, if you get my meaning. 

Cricket sex – what a concept.  Now, get out of my house, you noisy, horny insects!

Only 4 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Speaking of Migrations …

I’ve been spotting Monarch butterflies in the past week, especially in the last two days.  For those who aren’t aware, they are migrators.  They begin their journey in late August to early September, taking about two months to get to their final destination in Mexico (California for the western states).  I’ve never seen a cluster of them hanging together on trees, their way of conserving heat in cooler temperatures, but I’ve definitely noticed an increase in their numbers as they singly and in groups start to leave the area.

I counted about a dozen in different locations over the last two days, which is more than I’ve seen of them the entire summer.  They are wonderful to watch, so delicate in form, yet strong enough to fly up to 100 miles in a day.

Most will make it to their winter haven and most will make the trip back in the spring.  Sadly, their numbers have been dwindling through the years, so there may come a time when they’re not around anymore.  Take a moment if you see them and enjoy the sight.  They are as much a sign of the change of season as their travelling feathered counterparts.

Here’s a link to learn more about them and perhaps even help prevent their disappearance from our lives.

Only 5 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Migration: Poetry for a Thursday Night

Migration

In case you haven't noticed

it's gotten quieter out there

Not so many bird songs 

are floating through the air

The days are growing shorter

and our feathered friends all know

That soon their food will go away

and soon there will be snow

Some will leave and head on south

some will stay on here

But make no mistake they'll all return

To sing for us next year

                                                                         Lauren Swartzmiller

                                                                         © 09/17/2015

Only 6 days until Fall

Countdown to Fall – The Re-Domestication of Diva

It’s happened every year for the six years she’s been with me.  This beautiful and quite social long hair, Diva by name and attitude, becomes an exclusively outdoor cat from May until October.  Mind you, I don’t insist she or any of the other cats stay outside during this time.  There are cat doors and they can come and go as they please.  This one not only doesn’t want to use the cat doors, but seems to forget how to use them.  Feeding her just means doing it outdoors, which wasn’t an issue until this year.

Now usually, she stays close to the house.  This year, she’s taken to perching in trees in my neighbors’ yards.  The reason why she doesn’t do that here is because I have tall trees which branch out too high for her comfort.  The trees she’s been calling her summer residence have cat-friendly limbs starting at six feet.  Easy to get up to, easy to pop down from.  Both gave her vistas of the neighborhood, but kept her hidden from view. 

About a month ago, I noticed that she wasn’t coming up to the house for meals on any kind of regular basis.  Turns out a fellow cat lover saw her in the trees and felt sorry for her and started to bring her food.  Make no mistake, this cat has the sad cat face and meow act down to a science.  This woman, a fellow exercise walker who normally walks up and back down the hill once a day was now doing it twice a day even when she wasn’t feeling up to it.  I finally saw her doing this kindness for Diva last Sunday morning.  I explained that she was my cat, not a sweet feral feline.  We had a good laugh about it and she stopped bringing her food.

So now, Diva was cut off and had to start coming home again for he meals.  I still have to call her, but now she comes to to the house and eats and drinks heartily, heading back down to her favorite spot after being fed, petted and scratched.  She still prefers being outside and that will likely continue until the night temperatures start dipping down into the 30s.  Then, all of a sudden, she’ll run in the front door and stay in until the weather turns warm enough for overnight outside habitation again.  She has to figure out the cat doors once more, but once she does, she’s completely self-service.  She locates the cat litters and uses them appropriately.  She’s always gotten along with the other cats except for her first year when she was establishing herself.  While she does like to glue herself to my bed (they all do), she also varies her in-house location periodically.  She likes a change of scenery, after all.

Only 7 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Summer’s Back

Well, technically, it never left.  As I stated so emphatically before, it’s still summer until September 23rd.  But having those 70s during the day and 50s at night (ah, sleeping weather returns), which is more in line with where it should be this time of year, was really nice.  Granted, I had to throw the comforter back on the bed a few weeks earlier than expected, but it still beats trying to find a cool spot on the sheets for a few more winks of broken sleep due to the overly warm overnights.

This morning, it was a bit nippy in the house post-shower.  When my house cools down, it holds it in for a while.  This afternoon, the temperature was back up in the mid-80s, although a lot drier than last week.  The chilliness of my home’s interior this morning made it a sanctuary from the heat this afternoon.  It’ll likely be the same weather scenario for the next few days, but then return to nicer 70s by the weekend. I don’t plan on spending all my time inside, but it’s nice to know I can retreat to cool when it gets toasty and not have to worry about my electrical bill taking a jump.

Of course, nice temps in the 70s soon lead to 60s, then 50s, then 40s …. well, we all know where this is going, and pretty soon, we’ll miss those 80s,  90s and 100s.

Yeah, sure we will.

Only 8 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – That Touch of Color

I'm not talking dried up brown leaves on limbs and whole trees that I was seeing as a result of our drought locally.  I'm talking twinges of yellows where there should be yellow, with reds here and there and not just on the poison ivy, either (take a moment to feel the itch).

The colors I saw were vibrant.  I'll take that as a good sign of intensity to our change of seasons, although I wouldn't bet on it being too long before we'll need to start raking them up.  Still, we might get pleasantly surprised.

Only 9 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – When it Rains …

While for the most part it’s over, it rained last night and I do mean rained.  As I write this, I think it’s still raining very lightly.  Either that or water is dripping off trees and hitting the top roof right now.
 
While it let up a few times, for the most part, it downpoured from the slow moving storm system that passed through.  I checked online a short time ago for an approximate precipitation total for my area and AccuWeather is estimating at least 4” inches of rain fell locally between Saturday 6AM and now.  That sounds about right based on what I was hearing and seeing during the night.  I miss my rain gauge, though.
 
Talk about making up for lost time. While a lot of it will be runoff, it was still a good soaking and our drought status has definitely been taken down a peg or two.  Now, maybe we can get back to the normal season at hand.
 
Only 10 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Rain, Rain, Come Our Way

This is going to be a mercifully short entry.

My area has been very dry for most of the summer.  Most streams and lakes are below their normal levels by a noticeable amount.  Those with gardens have had to depend more on bringing the water to the plants instead of letting the rain do the job.  Foliage normally looks a duller green starting about now, but this year that dullness began back in early August.  We were starting to look kind of like a tinder box waiting for the flame.  I feel for anyplace with wildfires right now, knowing full well that, without relief, we could be next.

However, tonight into tomorrow and at least two more times in the next ten days, they're predicting rain for the area.  I welcome those little drops of relief despite the fact that I have a leaky back roof and rainy weather now makes my joints ache.  In the larger scheme of things, we need it.

Only 11 days until Fall.

My Editorial Error

I got a very nice e-mail from a friend regarding my post today in my other blog.  For those not following it, it's a countdown to the first day of fall, with me blogging blandly on a daily basis on one subject or another in the theme of the seasonal change.

My friend commented that it was a good entry, "But, Lauren dear, change the title."  Huh?  Now, why in the world should I change the title?  I looked at the entry in edit mode and still didn't understand.  Then I went to blog view and it hit me like a smack in the face.

The date, September 11, directly above the blog title.
The blog title:  Countdown to Fall – Bombs Away

Any other day, it might have been a clever take on the fact that black walnuts, which the entry was about, drop loud and hard and can do some damage in their fall to Earth.  Yeah, any other day.

I scheduled this entry to post the day before.  Due to poor sleep over the last several days, it didn't even register that I was posting something with such a poor choice of title on a day which still resonates so strongly with people, including me.  To my tired brain on September 10th, it was just tomorrow.

I've heard some say that it's been over 10 years and it's time to start moving on from that part of our history.  It's time to stop tolling bells and reading names.  It's time to stop visiting these sites like a sojourn in painful memory.  It's time to stop pussyfooting around the 9/11 date and return to normalcy.

Uh, no, it's not.  When the loss of thousands of lives in coordinated attacks in the matter of a morning starts to mean nothing, then we'll have lost a huge chunk of our humanity in that moment.

I thank my friend for knowing I hadn't really become desensitized to the significance of the day and for giving me that prod.  While the blog entry remains, the title has been changed.  My apologies to anyone who might have been offended by it.

Countdown to Fall – Aw, Nuts

On my property are two black walnut trees.  They’ve been there since before I was born and are now about 3 feet in diameter.  From them, many nuts have dropped through the years and between Mother Nature’s planting and squirrels forgetting where they left them, about two dozen trees have arisen in various locations.  By the way, if anyone would like some really good lumber or firewood (black walnut is excellent wood for either purpose) and actually knows what they’re doing, come get ‘em.

If you’re not familiar with black walnuts, once hulled and cracked (more on that in a minute) they are similar in appearance to regular walnuts.  Their taste is much stronger, though, sort of the walnut family equivalent of espresso coffee.  Some like them, some don’t.  I like them in small amounts.

To get to the nutmeat is a two-step process.  First, you have to break through the soft thick green hull outside.  That’s the easy part, and the pulp stains everything a yellowish-green that dries to brown.  It makes a great dye that’s been used for centuries, but it’s not all that nice looking on the hands over the following 1-3 days.  Once the outer hull is removed, there is a hard shell surrounding the nutmeat.  You know that neat little triangular shaped nut cracker that comes in holiday gift sets and works really well on regular walnuts?  Well, forget it.  Even before the nuts dry and cure for about 4 weeks (yes, really), cracking the inner hull requires industrial strength methods, although perhaps not all that sophisticated.  There are tools available which nicely split the hull and leave the nut halves intact, but I’m into the old adage of, “When all else fails, hit it with a hammer.”  You may get smaller pieces, but they’re still edible, and you get to take your frustrations out on a poor little well-armored nut.

Needless to say, with two dozen (and counting) trees on the property, the squirrels are busy.  But they don’t generally harvest them off the trees.  They wait for them to drop, then chew the soft hull off and scurry off with their bounty.  Now, consider this – each green-hulled black walnut is about the size of a tennis ball and it’s solid.  There’s a whole physics and math thing going on here involving mass and velocity which my brain has never done, but trust me – when these things fall from even 10 feet above, they land loud and hard.  You know when you’ve been hit by one (yes, I have), and if your car is parked under them, there will be little craters left in metal, although car windshields tend to survive the impact with only a stain of green smoosh left behind.

I gather, hull and store a few dozen nuts for use around the holidays and I do highly recommend trying them if you get the opportunity.  However, I'd try to avoid remaining under the trees for long amounts of time during September.  This year isn’t a bumper crop due to the lack of rain, but there’s still enough lurking in the branches above to be wary of.  The trees are also losing their leaves at the same time (last to get them in the spring, first to lose them in the fall), and many times there are still nuts on the trees even after most of the leaves are gone, and you get to see where each little round weapon of minor destruction is waiting just for you.  Be careful.

Only 12 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Revitalized

Well, sort of.

It took a while before things cooled off last night after a most-welcome line of rain and thunderstorms blew through my area during the early evening hours.  I slept better than I have for the past week, but I can't say that it was completely comfortable sleeping.  While it got into the the low 70s and will likely remain there today, it was and is still pretty muggy.  There is another line of rainy stuff expected this evening, and then it should get nice.

From the rain that we got, however, came another revitalization.  The ground has been very dry, but with the change that came yesterday came that wonderful earthy smell that accompanies the season.  Granted, it's the smell of decaying leaves combined with a few flowering plants, etc., but with it being so dry before, the fragrances of autumn just weren't there.  Yesterday and today, there is a hint of them returning.

The leaves still on the trees also look a bit better as well. Perhaps there will be something more than them drying up and dropping off as I've been seeing the last two weeks.  While it isn't as simple as adding water to the mix, not having water in the mix at all would have guaranteed a short and dull change of color to all the foliage.  Since the colors of fall are part of the joy of the season, one can only hope that the rains we're expecting will make the difference between boring and brilliant change.

Only 13 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall – Sleep Deprived: Poetry for a Too Early Wednesday Morning

Well, I was going to write on another topic today, but my brain is too fried from lack of sleep to properly turn the phrase.  Too many days of too much muggy heat finally caught up with me.  I've been awake more than usual during the night and finally gave up and got up at 3 AM.  I'm presently listening to cicadas and crickets at full throttle, which can barely be heard over the two fans which are also running at full throttle.  It's like trying to sleep on an airport tarmac.

While I know I've posted my old friend's picture on the subject here before, bless me if I can find it here.  I think I also posted the bit of poetry below before as well, but also couldn't find it.  Still, both are appropriate to the day(s).

The break in the weather is actually coming a little earlier than expected, but it's still not going to be today.  So, let's get back to normal September weather, shall we, before I start writing gibberish.  Well, more than usual, anyway.

Only 14 days until Fall.

Sleep Deprived

3 AM and reluctantly up out of bed

for sleep eluded this weary head

Foggy mind and tired body are mine for today

will the dog days of summer ever go ' way?

Heat and humidity with no A/C

makes sleeping as hard as any chore can be

Sleep and wake, toss and turn, murmur expletive deleted

for the minutes of rest this weather has meted

You can't do much with sleep deprivation

being up and functional a horrid sensation

Every move and thought a much slower act

in the hope of maintaining this life's pact

But September will come with cooler air to be sure

ultimately this insomniac's cure

Until then coffee cups must be filled to the rim

To bring my mind out of its consciousness dim

So as I fill my first moments with muddy brew

and write these poetic words I must coo

If I'm required to look in the mirror at this tired sight

I should have a better reason to be awake at night

                                                                                                        2005 Lauren Swartzmiller

Countdown to Fall – September's Cooking and Not in a Good Way

Much as I don't look forward to the slide toward colder temperatures for financial reasons, right now I'd welcome it.  I am not a hothouse plant and don't enjoy temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s with humidity that makes it that much more oppressive. Indoors offers some relief, but day after day of those temperatures and even the best insulated home (mine isn't) will retain the heat.  It's still cooler than outdoors, but not by much.

Night time is only cooling into the 70s locally.  I chose not to have an air conditioner a long time ago.  They're energy suckers even at their most energy efficient, and I find the hum more annoying and sleep disturbing than a fan.  On days and nights like this, though, it makes me wonder if having just one teeny, tiny A/C unit to have available might have been a wise investment back in the days of better income.

As a result of all this summertime weather in September, especially at night, I'm getting very sleep deprived.  Yeah, just try and find a cool spot on the sheets.  I'm yawning as I type this and I've been up for two and a half hours already.  I know the break is coming in about two days and we'll be back to cooler and drier weather that is more September-like after that.  I will welcome it with open arms, followed by a long nap.

Until then – mmph, more coffee.

Only 15 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall–Labor Day

Ah, that last holiday and hurrah of summer.  A day set aside over 100 years ago to celebrate the worker.  It was a day of parades and speeches honoring the hardworking folks who kept all manner of businesses running.  While it started on a Tuesday originally, it quickly moved to the first Monday in September and stayed there, becoming the original three-day weekend legal holiday combo.

Some might say it’s deteriorated in its purpose to being just another day to have barbecues and picnics, hit the beaches, go shopping.  However, with the exception of the shopping which wasn’t allowed on the holiday for a almost a century, I think it was always about having an extra day to relax and enjoy before the return to the normal workweek. 

The parades celebrating Labor Day have mostly gone away through the years. The speeches by leaders and labor unions still go on, but nowadays, they end up more as news bits for us to read or watch at another time.

But, the message of the day is still important.  The working man and woman, regardless of their position, regardless of the size of their paycheck, are what make businesses and countries flourish.  To ignore them or downplay their importance is asking for failure.  To honor and celebrate their roles in our lives isn’t just an extra day tacked on to a weekend, either.  It’s a year-round effort.

To those who work today, whether they must or have opted to put the time in, I hope the day holds at least a little relaxation.  I also hope somebody higher in your ranks expresses their appreciation for you giving up what is your holiday to continue to serve.

Wherever you are, whatever your job, thank you for all the great work that you do.

Happy Labor Day, everyone.

Only 16 days until Fall.

Countdown to Fall - Summer Ain't Over

So, here we are again.  Another seasonal countdown.  Like my Countdown to Spring series, I will be inanely blogging every day on the theme of transitioning from one season to the next.  Unlike the earlier series, this one will be mercifully shorter.  Only 17 days, thank goodness (go ahead – try and admit you weren’t thinking it).

I’m going to start with the fact that this weekend is NOT the end of summer.  

Yes, I know most schools which didn’t open last week will be opening this coming Tuesday, heralding the end of summer vacation for kids of all ages, their parents who will be breathing a sigh of relief and shedding a tear of regret all at the same time, as well as the return to normal routine (and paychecks for some) for the teachers and all the people who help our educational systems run.

Yes, vacation spots and summer tourist attractions will be winding down.  Yes, the end of summer sales events and back to school sales will also be coming to an end soon.  Save some money for Black Friday – they’ve already started putting out Christmas decorations in some stores.

Yes, birds are starting to flock and some even starting to migrate.  Some of the the human ‘snowbirds’ are also closing up shop, packing up and heading out to their winter homes. 

Even meteorologists are calling this long weekend the end of summer.  That might suggest that cooler conditions are settling in when these folks call it a season.  Uh, no, not really.  September can still be nasty.  It is the peak of the hurricane season, which means that it’s still warm enough out over the oceans for these storms to develop right down to the end of the month and sometimes beyond.

So, no, it’s not over.  The astronomical end of summer, when the sun’s intensity is at its strongest at the equator and the day and night are of equal length, is on September 23rd.. 

That’s September 23rd at 4:21 AM EDT, People!   The heck with everyone else’s timetables!   I can legitimately deny it for a while longer.  That means that up until 4:20:59 AM on 9/23/15, I will insist it’s still summer even if the temperatures dip into the 30s at night in my area by that point.  So there – nyah!

Only 17 days until Fall.

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