Fall foliage is past peak and either turned brown or fallen. The first few snow flakes of the coming winter got spat out of a dreary raw rainy sky yesterday along with a few pellets of sleet. Halloween and November are on the doorstep. Plenty of seasonal lawn ornaments, some cute, some ghoulish.
Already plenty of leaves to be raked up with more to come.
While there’s been no frost or freeze yet, the weather has been raw enough so that growing season has pretty much ended, except for the occasional fungi bursting out of the ground.
I find it hard to think of it as still fall, with the first day of winter still over a month away. Rather it seems more a curious pause between fall and winter. The brilliant colors of autumn have vanished but the snows of winter have yet to collect on the ground. This little segment of the year ought to have a name of its own. Possibly Ember Days, which in Christian calenders marked a period of time following the change of the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) when fasting and prayer were done. There are a number of different types of celebrations done at this time of year, honoring the summer and the bountiful crops (if any) it produced, allowing food to be put up for the winter to come.
Given what a short period of time it is (roughly end of October to Thanksgiving, or whenever the snow begins falling in earnest) perhaps it might best be named the Quiet Time. A time for taking stock of the past year and begin preparing for the year yet to come. A time for peacefully appreciating what we have, rather than going berserk in the wild consumer bacchanalias that Thanksgiving and Christmas have been turned into.
Whatever it may be called, enjoy and have a happy season.
The first full month of Fall has come and is nearly gone with Halloween just around the corner. Blink and you’ll miss it. Why time insists on whizzing by so fast these days is uncertain but may involve the fact that the older you get, the more time seems to speed up. Science data suggests that as we age, our ability to process images and experiences decreases even though time is actually moving at the same pace it always does. That may very well be, but one reason I almost never watch television anymore is the increasingly frantic pace of cutting from one scene to the next as well as the endless barrage of truncated ‘sound bites’ which convey little information that’s of any use. I’m not the only one who’s noticed this and like others I find it obnoxious.
Maybe that’s because I’m getting to be an old fuddy-duddy now or maybe my tolerance for baloney has permanently tanked. In any case, I’ve changed to walking more, paying more attention to reality and taking my entertainment in bite size chunks of my own choosing, rather than having it spoon fed to me by faceless corporations out to make a profit at my expense.
On the morning of October 10, about 11:30 AM, many people in southern New Hampshire, as well as parts of Maine and Massachusetts reported hearing a loud boom. Curiously neither of my brothers who both live in the southern part of the state heard anything out of the ordinary or if they did, attributed it to nearby noisemakers and thought nothing more of it. Scientists say there was no earthquake and the FAA says there was no military plane activity in the area. Most likely explanation is a bolide coming in from space exploding in the upper atmosphere. So unless the Air Force fesses up and admits one of their boys was hotdogging, the meteor explanation will have to suffice.
The Covid panic proceeds apace with no signs of letting up. There’s been a minor surge in the past few weeks here in New Hampshire, no doubt largely due to the influx of germ laden tourists during fall foliage season. It will no doubt subside in the coming weeks and resurface with the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let’s face it, folks. Covid is here to stay and become another one of the ailments we have to chronically deal with, like influenza or norovirus.
The tree foliage here in Northern New Hampshire has peaked and leaves are now being shed with increasing speed, piling up at the side of the road, on top of lawns or spinning around madly in the backwash left by speeding cars. Colors were good but are quickly fading away from bright yellows and reds to less flamboyant yellow ochers and bronze shades. I’m trying to stay on top of the raking by going out in good weather (with hopefully no wind) and using an actual rake that I hold in my hands and scratch the ground with. Yes, people still use those things! Much quieter than a leaf blower plus you get a good aerobics workout.
Birds have begun migrating through, with the bulk of them being robins, sparrows and juncos. I’ve heard both flickers and pileated woodpeckers in the woods with their loud characteristic calls. Crows and blue jays are flying back and forth, probably checking out their digs for the winter and calling out anybody who tried to invade their territory. Squirrels and chipmunks are packing away the bonanza of acorns to help them tide over winter and mice are trying weasel their way into the woodwork of the house looking for a warm place to shack up in for the winter.
Chipmunks are especially amusing to watch as they cram seeds and acorns into pockets they have in their cheeks until they look like they have a dreadful case of the mumps. Very industrious, they don’t hibernate but do stock food away for the winter so they have something to feed on while the weather is foul and they have to lay low. These energetic little ground squirrels are surprisingly territorial, calling out their ownership with loud piercing bird-like chirps and pounding on any chippie who crosses the line, trying to invade. People get fooled by their cute appearance, thinking they’re sweet little animals. Don’t you believe it! These guys are little scrappers and are not above trying to bite off their opponent’s tail to assert dominance. It’s a rough and tumble world if you’re a chipmunk.
On a somber note, I recently witnessed the funeral procession of a local fireman who passed away suddenly. A twenty four year veteran, he had just retired, but sadly never got a chance to enjoy it. I watched the procession begin just after the services at the local Catholic church. Dozens of firemen from around the north country attended, in full dress uniforms with white gloves, standing at attention and saluting the flag draped coffin as it emerged from the church. The coffin was then loaded into the back of a fire engine for one last ride down Main Street past the local fire station where a huge American flag had been hung over the road.
Though I didn’t know the fireman personally, it was still a moving ceremony to watch, a recognition of his years of service and the respect he was held in.
Lastly is the weather. While we are experiencing fall like conditions now, it wasn’t until this past week that the first light frost hit some of the plants in my garden. This is extremely unusual as the first light frosts usually occur in mid to late September and a hard freeze usually by mid-October. While I’m not sure if this is a record for this area, the local weather reporter for WMUR did state this is the latest frosts have made their appearance in many years. While some may dispute global warming, I have seen too much evidence of it in recent years to doubt its existence.
Well, that’s all for this month. Have a peaceful Autumn, everybody.
With the first day of fall officially come and gone, it is now time for autumn leaves, falling acorns, migrating geese and surprisingly enough caterpillars. More than a few species are searching around for places to hole up and pupate over the winter until the arrival of spring when they can emerge as butterflies or moths beginning the cycle of reproduction all over again.
A few years ago, I was sweeping off the driveway when I spotted what at first appeared to be a walking green cigar. This proved to be a Polyphemus caterpillar nearly three inches long. He was moving along at a pretty good clip but fortunately I was able to grab a ruler and snap a decent picture of him. The Polyphemus moth (which he will eventually metamorphose into) is a large nocturnal moth with large eye spots on both wings. Named after the legendary cyclops, these moths are rarely seen but I was fortunate enough to discover one of their offspring.
These caterpillars are harmless, except to tree leaves, relying on their green coloration to hide them from predators looking for fat juicy bugs to nom. Others, like the monarch caterpillar, rely on a foul taste to deter predators, sporting bright colors to warn off anyone looking for a meal. Yucky but harmless.
But there are other caterpillars which are not quite so harmless. Many, like the gypsy moth caterpillar, are covered with irritating hairs which can produce rashes on susceptible people. Tussock caterpillars, like the one pictured below, also have irritating hairs which can cause problems for the sensitive, though they are not really that poisonous.
While these insects may be interesting to look at, it is best to just look and not touch.
But the one you absolutely, positively should not touch under any circumstances is the flannel moth caterpillar. Like the one below they look strangely like a toupee someone has lost. But don’t be fooled.
These silly looking creatures sport highly poisonous stinging hairs which contain venom producing an unpleasant result if you are unfortunate enough to get stuck by one. Many people report it feels worse than a bee or wasp sting causing intense pain for the unlucky victim. Some are sensitive enough so they have wound up in the emergency room. I have not come across any references to fatal allergic reactions but the potential is always there. Look but don’t touch!
For those who are wondering what the coming winter may bring, some may take a look at the wooly bear caterpillar.
While this fellow sports stiff body hairs, the wooly bear is not toxic in any way. If you disturb them, they will curl up into an innocuous looking ball and lie still until it thinks the coast is clear. For some reason people have seized upon these little critters as a way to forecast the weather. If the brown band is wide, it foretells a mild winter. If it is narrow, then a rough winter is on the way. At the risk of bursting people’s bubbles, studies have not borne this out. In fact, I have seen wooly bears in the same year with differing widths in their brown bands. So unless you want to make out that one of them is a fibber, the caterpillars are a better sign that winter is just simply on the way than as to what kind of winter it will be.
So what is a good sign a cold winter may be on the way? Why, union suits pulled from storage and stuck out on the line to air out in preparations for blustery conditions of course! What else? Just a different kind of wooly.
The first day of autumn landed on this past Tuesday at 9:30 AM just a few days after my 66th birthday. Usually the seasons seem to pass quite uneventfully from one to the next with only minor irritating glitches, soon forgotten. This past year though has definitely been a doozy.
It began of course with the advent of COVID-19. The reaction in the press was comparable to a nuke being dropped. The television news services tend to go over the top anyway, especially in recent years, but this has really been unprecedented. With so much information and mis-information flying around, it’s been hard to make sense of it all. But peering past all the hype and hysteria, it is possible to glean a few useful insights. COVID has a fairly low mortality rate overall but by the same token, it’s not something to take lightly. As a sixty-plus year old individual I am definitely taking precautions though I refuse to get into a lather about it. But how does the current epidemic stack up overall with pandemics of earlier years?
Looking back into the past, smallpox mortality rate was 30%, diphtheria 10% (though in young children it could be as much as 20%). Ebola runs very roughly about 50% and bubonic plague much the same. COVID seems to be just below 5% though statistics are still a little conflicting. Seasonal flu usually runs about .1%. What to do? Well, basically what they have been recommending: wear face masks in public areas, practice social distancing, do a lot of hand washing and recognize that epidemics, even the worst ones, will eventually run their course.
Then there were the ‘murder hornets’ arriving on our shores. These ghastly creatures are nearly two inches long with a stinger they can use over and over, unlike a honeybee which can only sting once. One victim likened it to being slugged in the jaw by Mike Tyson. It’s a pretty brutal critter. Given previous attempts to rid ourselves of invasive insects such as gypsy moths, Asian tiger mosquitoes, emerald ash borers, marmolated stink bugs, Formosan termites, fire ants and African bees, thing don’t look too promising. One can only hope that because of its size this in-your-face invader will be a little easier to track down and at least keep under control.
Then there’s the drought. While we’ve been able to avoid wildfires of the sort they’ve been having out west, still we are at risk. This past summer in New Hampshire has been the driest in several years. While southern New Hampshire has been the worst hit, here in the northern part of the state, it has been well over a month since any measurable rain has fallen.
A number of towns, including where I live, have begun ordering restricted water usage meaning no car washing, no lawn or garden watering, etc. Since it’s the end of the growing season here that’s not a big deal. The weather report promises a chance of rain next week but it likely will not put much of a dent in the deficit. If anybody knows how to do a rain dance, please step up to the plate and help out!
Now that a few frosts have hit, leaves are beginning to change color. It’s hard to say if the drought will affect the quality of the color. It’s still a bit spotty right now but will likely increase and peak in just a few short weeks. Then we will know better.
Autumn is usually a pretty decent time of year. The weather is not so torrid as during the summer. Mosquitoes have been squashed by the fall chill. If I time my morning walk right, I am likely to see some flocks of geese going overhead on their way south. While trick-or-treating will likely be canceled due to the COVID epidemic, ghoulish lawn decorations will no doubt go up to mark the arrival of Halloween.
But we’re not quite out of the woods yet. Unfortunately there will still be one final catastrophe to face before Thanksgiving. Yes, I mean the national election. Obviously the less said about that the better.
