Be Prepared – Septembler 28, 2022

graphix: spwilcen

All of a suddenly, summer beat feet.  In the space of a day, we went from bone dry, grass parching, shirt soaking heat, to long-sleeve cool, dehumidifier running wide-open all-day damp.  Predominantly cloudy, intermittent sprinkle, cool-damp.

It’s kind of nice.  Not yet cool enough you can see your breath while chasing squirrels from their business of ruining turf in the yard.  The lawn is perking up. [Despite the squirrels’ best efforts.]  Be time to aerate and overseed soon. Time to call the A/C folks to come collect their semi-annual tribute.  Not damp enough to encourage mold.

Nice change of pace.    I’ll take it.

Soup and stew comfort food season.

Autumn is my favorite season anyway.

But the transition caught me unaware.  Enough so, I find myself looking around to see what it was that I missed.  You know, what “signs” signaling seasonal wardrobe change more than flipping a calendar page escaped my notice. 

Hummingbirds left for Hummingbird, Arizona?  Hmm.  Hadn’t noticed. Better pay attention.  Garden plants tucking it in, drooping, browning, and going to seed?  Only the lettuce, a sissy plant in summer heat, It was done anyway.  Dill, that Queen Anne’s Lace cousin browned and fragrant?  Well, dill seeds are the best part anyway and they’re expected to be ready for harvest well before frost.  Maples suddenly yellow and crimson?  Nope. Noticed yesterday they’re only beet red near the very top.

Tomato plants naked? Nah. Still in summer regalia, though Boss brought in a mess of not perfectly ripe globes yesterday – “not to lose them to frost,” I was told. They’ll be windowsill denizens for a day or two. 

Well, come to think of it, the Pineapple Sage is full-on rocket red.  Not as luxurious as last year – “down south” we still were then, though – and the specimens here didn’t get prime southern exposure.  But that was a sign.

Better start paying attention.  “Up here” is not the same as “down there.”

Don’t want to get caught with my britches down when the snow falls.