One Fell Swoop

A sign of the season - leaves falling. Usually you'll see them drop one at a time, twisting and turning in the air as until they fall to the ground. On especially windy days, it can look like snow with all the leaves swirling about. But once in awhile, a tree responds differently to fall's call. Once in awhile - all the leaves drop in fell swoop. Just like the tree in the picture.

In the morning, the tree had most of its leaves. But when I saw it in the afternoon, the ground was covered with branches. They all must have dropped in a very short amount of time. And without waiting to change color.

Fall is like this - sometimes it is long and lingering, mild weather for days on end. And then - abruptly - cold winds and cloudy skies take over. A sign that winter is not far off. But then, neither is spring!

A Sure Sign of Fall

Cutting the grass in the backyard on Sunday, I heard a chipping sound. Not chipping sparrows. Not house sparrows or house finches. Could it be? Nah...

Then I spotted it - flying up from the ground to the fence. Small, gray above, white below with white on the outside of the tail. Yep - it was a junco.

According to the phenology records I keep, juncos show up on average about October 6. The latest I've ever waited for them was October 18 - the earliest September 23. So, it's not too unusual that it took until the 13th.

Juncos - snowbirds. Seeing them means it is definitely fall and the snow isn't far behind. I guess I don't mind that it took so long. We've had day after day of above average temperatures which made up for the endless winter last spring. (You remember? Snow in May?) So, I guess we deserved a lingering autumn even if it means some of our fall friends are showing up later, too. The juncos will be here awhile (a long while? )

Fall on the Prairie

Looking across the prairie yesterday, I realized it was a fall prairie. The prairie of fall has its own beauty, but a sad kind of beauty as it heralds the changes to come.

The grasses are no longer green. Instead, stalks of reddish-brown wave in the wind. The oranges of butterflyweed and purples of bergamot and anise hyssop are faded to tan and white.

The prairie sounds different, too. There are more crickets and grasshoppers singing - singing their final songs before dying. The wind rattles the dried stems and leaves of the cupplants.

And that wind carries a hint of the winter that is to come - even on a day like yesterday with warm sunshine, you can tell that winter is just out there. Waiting...

Turkey vultures and geese flew over, heading south. Goldfinches "po-ta-to chip"ped above, rising and falling on invisible trails across the prairie as they trekked from one side of the woods to the other.

Fleeting - enjoy the beauty of fall while it is here.