Free-Fall into Autumn

Autumn pond, woods, and very red maple

You wouldn't have expected from the way the month started out that October's average high would be normal (but it was). Nine of the first eleven days of the month recorded highs so much above normal (12-23⁰) as to be downright scary---especially when coupled with the news of the latest U.N report on climate change. Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040. Five of those eleven days had temperatures 19-23⁰ above normal; four had temperatures 12-15⁰ above; one day was 7⁰ above, and one a modest 4⁰ above normal.

Then came a big change that plummeted us into a real Autumn chill. The remaining twenty days were mostly below the normal high (but nothing so extreme as those first eleven days). Ten of the twenty days had high temperatures that were significantly below the normal high (8-16⁰). During the second half of the month, we had had the first frost, and then we had four more, interspersed with four hard freezes.

...A cozy fire to keep us warm...

Lots of people around here complain about the cold weather. (Many of them are the ones who dress in thin jackets and flip-flops to go to the grocery store although the temperature is in the 40's.) But when the first frost and freeze come, Ann and I happily stack up the firewood and break out the mulled cider.

Freezing temperatures normally signal the end of the growing season, but no one seems to have told the grass that. Despite the freezes, the growing grass has been aided and abetted by another month of higher than normal rainfall. Although only 1/2" above the norm, this month's extra rainfall came on the heels of a way-too-wet September. The additional moisture was NOT needed!

Frosty zinnia

One thing all the extra moisture did, coupled, of course, with the heat of September and early October, was to retard the development of fall color in the trees. (Fall color is happening later which is additional evidence for a changing climate; last year we didn't see significant change before mid-November!) This year the leaves finally began changing and falling significantly during the last week of the month. In the spring, I always think there's nothing more magical and beautiful than the flowering trees, but then the fall color change comes, and I think there's nothing more magical and beautiful. Nature IS grand, which is why we should be as good care-takers of her as we can each possibly be.

Boo!

Another October nature sight is the brief reappearance of my favorite field bird, the red-wing blackbird. The red-wings leave the early part of August for points north, then stop by for a couple of days before heading south where they'll stay until February. We used to see them gather by the hundreds, perching on the tops of the trees in the woods, but the last three years, only a few dozen stop on the way south. I want to believe the others have just found a better food supply, and that these few are the ones really grateful for the care I took of them over the summer who wanted to give a "Thanks and see ya in the Spring" whistle. Nature is also bittersweet.

                             October colors in the Jersey Woods

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

An august August

Echinacea seed head

August 2018 tied 1934 as the fourth hottest August in U.S. weather history. Overall, 2018 is shaping up to be the fourth hottest year on record world-wide (including many parts of the U.S.). Thankfully, Central Ohio was largely spared from extreme heat for much of the month. In fact, at Bean Hill, the monthly average high was one degree below the historic average. The nights, however, were a different story. Almost half of the night-time lows (fourteen) had temperatures ranging from 5-12⁰ above average. In the great scheme of weather things, higher than normal nighttime temperatures can be more damaging to flora and fauna health than higher than normal daytime temperatures. Taken together, the damage can be permanent.

Giant zinnia

Goldenrod, meadow asters, milkweed

Even though this part of the country escaped aberrant conditions for at least half of the month, there were two abnormal weather events here during August. First, it got very hot toward the end of the month. On 8/27 and 8/28,  the temperature hit 90⁰, with humidity so high the heat index soared well above the actual temperature, creating life-threatening conditions for anyone with respiratory problems. Most of the schools in the Columbus City Schools system have no air-conditioning, and so, for the first time ever, Columbus City students and teachers were dismissed 2.5 hours early both days. 

Tiny aster-like flowers in the meadow

The second event of note was the rain. As we've seen during the past couple of months, it was torrential at times: .82" on 8/1; 1.3" on 8/11; .59" on 8/17; 1.07" on 8/20. August 2018's average rainfall was 4.99", 1.27" above the historic average. The combination of heavy, almost tropical rains, and extreme heat and humidity at the end of the month resulted in Ohio apple orchards losing 50% of the popular honeycrisp crop. It succumbed to a disease called "bitter rot". 

Gardens take on a golden hue

No matter how hot it might get at times, August is the month we begin to see the signs that autumn is on its way. This is the month we begin deadheading echinacea (coneflower). Echinacea will continue to sprout new flowers further down the long stem, so when cutting off the spent heads, we need to be sure to cut above the emerging buds lower down. At Bean Hill, there is a LOT of echinacea, so this is a garden task that takes some time, but it's kind of a zen task, especially on a slightly breezy, not too hot day. You're out there with the bees and the butterflies---all of you focused intensely on the echinacea.

This is the month the meadows begin to turn yellow with the much-maligned, very lovely golden rod, and rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans) replaces echinacea in both gardens and meadows. Meadow asters of various sizes appear; the tiny white ones look like stars.The giant zinnias that have been growing since early June really flourish in August and are spectacular.

Chanterelle mushrooms in the Jersey Woods

This year, a friend discovered chanterelle mushrooms growing in the Jersey Woods. She introduced us to an amazing taste treat. Chanterelles sauteed in butter, chicken stock, and red wine taste and have a mouth-feel like the best filet mignon. No wonder a pound of these things can cost $100. And to think they grow literally in our own backyard!