Steamy, Streamy September

September is migration month for Monarch butterflies...

...and milkweed seeds

In early August, the New York Times headline said what lots of us already knew "2018 is shaping up to be the fourth-hottest year".  More disturbing than that headline was the opening sentence: "This summer of fire and swelter looks a lot like the future that scientists have been warning about in the era of climate change, and it’s revealing in real time how unprepared much of the world remains for life on a hotter planet." Not only is the world unprepared, there are a few places---like Washington, D. C.---where climate change is not just ignored, but ridiculed, and where policies established prior to 2016 to apply the brakes are being ruthlessly undone by the current administration. The White House reduced restrictions on methane emissions this month, the third time since July emission standards were reduced. Methane emissions, of course, are a primary cause of Earth's rising temperatures.

Crabapple berries after the rain

This September was HOT in lots of places. As the month began, dangerously high heat and humidity forced the Columbus City Schools to close early two days, and then to close one entire day. (Most city schools are not air conditioned.) Area schools have closed many times over the years for snow and ice , and even the occasional flooding, but have never closed due to excessive heat. Just another weather-related "first". If you've been paying attention, you've noticed there are a lot of weather-related "firsts" lately.

Bean Hill was a microcosm of what happened in September in many places. Our average high temperature for the month was 79.23⁰, 2.23 degrees above the historic average. Our average low temperature was literally twice as bad: 60.6⁰, 4.6 degrees above the historic average. The brutal day and night temperatures and extremely high humidity caused our vegetables to rot. In the past years most of them have continued to produce through September and even into the beginning of October.  We got a few green peppers and cherry tomatoes after the first week of the month, but cucumbers and paste tomatoes died, the basil blackened, thyme and oregano failed to thrive, and the sage plant--usually a very hardy plant--keeled over dead. 

Anemone

Meadow asters

The above-average temperatures were outdone by the rain. The historic average for Central Ohio in September is 2.92". At Bean Hill, the rainfall measured 6.73", and 4.61 of those inches fell over one 5-day period (9/6-9/10). Little wonder the humidity was so high.

As I write this grim report, autumn has finally arrived in the form of normal temperatures. Today there is a definite and welcome chill in the air, but the first half of October was also much too hot for the time of year. More on that in the next blog. 



I hope the photos will compensate somewhat for this depressing report. The anemone and meadow asters are two of the most welcome September bloomers.

A setting September sun highlights the changing leaves