I went out earlier looking for signs of fall. Trees have been dropping their leaves, but they’re all brown. I think this is as much from heat stress as anything else. One of the cherries exploded into a large, sprawling tree which bears no fruit and only tiny white flowers - the root-stock apparently went off on its own after the graft died at some point along the way. It’s completely bare now, and a dogwood I planed last winter is hanging on, but all of its leaves are brown and crispy at the edges. The few apples which survived the summer are looking pretty gross and the pears didn’t do much at all this year. I’m blaming a late frost and will cross my fingers for next year.
The frostweed, which grows in most of the brushy areas out front is wilted and brown, and even the goldenrod is looking a bit sad. Everything - the grass, trees, and wildflowers alike - looks to be over it. I think we’re due for some rain this weekend. We could use a few days of it.
The cottage garden had some cleanup the other day - lots of stuff pruned and deadheaded. Lots of it has proven out its drought tolerance. Already thinking about the adjustments for next year.
The surest signs I found were the insects. Scolid wasps are showing up here and there, looking at the frostflowers and coming off as disappointed as I am. The late-summer field crickets and katydids are still off and running, and I saw a monarch butterfly the other day. It was generally moving southward. I hope it’s the leading edge of more and not the final part of the migration parade.
I haven’t seen any of the large orb-weavers yet, and not from a lack of looking. Every time I go into the woody areas, I keep my eyes peeled for the Joro spiders which are supposed to be making their way north from Georgia. Seek shows them in and around Chattanooga so I suppose it’s only a matter of time. There are lots of large funnel spiders spreading webs and waiting in their tunnels. Most of the webs are covered in brown leaves too.
I know the days are getting shorter; my watch helpfully shows me the next sunrise or sunset and I’ve been watching it go down a minute or two earlier every day. The late afternoon light is also starting to take on a sort of reddish-gold quality which, honestly, might just be my imagination.
The nights are cooling off a bit and when I’ve been out before sunrise with the dogs, I’ve heard owls across the way carrying on some extended debate about something or other. Everything is generally pointing towards fall but it sure doesn’t feel like it in the middle of the day. It’s 93 out there with the humidity pushing the “feels like” temperature up to 110.
I received word yesterday that an old work colleague and friend had passed away after a short illness. We hadn’t spoken for a while, but touched base every so often via texted jokes - the usual inside-joke dumb stuff. He had battled some serious health issues over time. I’ll miss having him in the world. Even though we didn’t speak often, a few of us had the sort of friendship that could continue a conversation after a hiatus of months or years. Requiescat in pace, bro.