Autumn at Last

Autumn at Last

The trees have been late in losing their leaves around here this season. Some leaves have turned a brilliant orange, some a subdued red, but for the most part the leaves in my neighborhood are still attached to their branches. At least until this week when some suddenly started to float down and coat the sidewalks.

I like Autumn.  I like the colors that brighten up the trees and the crunch of the leaves that have fallen to the ground. The slight nip of the wind in the air energizes my walk. Mostly, though, I feel my energy lift after the lethargy of the hot summer days.

This Fall, though, has been slow in offering up its charms. The summer heat seemed to last longer than usual. After a round of cooler days, we are back to temps in the 70s! I wonder if our winter weather will be different as well. Certainly different from my childhood memories of autumn.

But then so much, these days, has changed. Weather-wise there are more storms, more drought, more floods all across our nation and the world. There is more political animosity, more anger, more active hatred. I try to look at people in a universal way, hoping to see what connects us rather than tears us apart. I look for the joy in life even though I know there are times for grief.

As the leaves finally fall, it is easy to forget their beauty. But they will be back, vibrant as ever, as Spring comes around. I hope that we all remember that as the seasons can change, so can we. Let’s seek the kindness and beauty of life and reach out to share it with those around us.

How are the seasons figured globally?

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/aboutseasons.html

Seasons and Changing Climate

Seasons and Changing Climate

Two weeks ago Spring arrived in an unusual way here in the northeast - we had four snowstorms. We also had crocuses hiding under the blanket of white. Last week we had atypical temperatures in the high sixties - and daffodils. Today it was back in the 40s and the flowering plum tree in our front yard was, well, flowering.

I have always respected the inner sense of nature with its seasonal consistency. It has traditionally provided focus in our world. But lately I am concerned; our weather is changing. The seasons are shifting with winters becoming shorter and summers becoming longer, in weather terms. We have been experiencing more floods and extreme storms. Islands are becoming flooded and unlivable. Forest fires are fiercer and more prolonged. Glaciers are melting and animals are losing traditional habitats. I wonder how our food supply will be affected as well as our health.

I hope that we can preserve our beautiful planet for future generations. It is truly an amazing place. And as Spring moves toward Summer, I will plant some vegetables as I do each year. They will each take their own time to grow and hopefully produce their offerings that will be so appreciated in our family. There is nothing as delicious as a handpicked and immediately eaten tomato!

How is climate changing?

https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/atmospheric/climate-change-four-seasons-redefine.htm 

And more:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-effects/ 

Geese and Growth

Geese and Growth

It’s another winter, another year. So many things in nature shift with the seasons. Geese remind us of the coming cold as they honk their way south. The geese have moved to warmer climates by now, which is a good thing. We have had some record cold temps lately. I know they’ll be back in spring but as I watched them take off, I kind of missed them already.

People respond to the change in seasons as well. Someone I know says she is not a winter person. She hunkers inside during the winter weather and waits for the warm summer’s embrace. Another friend relishes the snow and cold and looks forward to getting out her skis. I kind of like the snow myself, even when I have to shovel. We each try to adjust in our own way to what Mother Nature brings.

As I looked at the geese honking their way south, I thought about this past year. It hasn’t been an easy time for me but, like the geese instinctively know, I sense it is time to move on. Come the spring the geese will return to familiar surroundings with a new perspective. It sounds like a plan for me, too.

As I watched the geese fly off, I wished them well and knew I would look forward to their return.

And now I wish everyone a healthy and happy – and rejuvenated - 2018!

Azalea Beauty

Azalea Beauty

I love the azalea bushes in front of our house. Each morning they greet me with a wild, pink beauty that starts my day off with a gasp of pleasure. Within a week of hinting at flowers, the buds have expressed their full-blossomed glorious nature. There are so many flowers now, the branches keep bending with the weight.

Azaleas are early-flowering plants, which makes them welcome after a season laden with cold, wind, now-and-then snow, and a bunch of rain. They are part of the rhododendron family. Rhododendron bushes are also full of exuberance and color. 

Sometimes we all need a burst of liveliness. Like plants, life has its seasons of quiet and renewal intermingled with growth and high spirits. Summer is coming and many more colorful plants will be available for our viewing pleasure but I know I will always have a fond spot for the reminder of life’s seasons from beautiful azaleas.

Caring for azaleas:

http://www.almanac.com/plant/rhododendrons

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/azalea/azaleas-noteworthy-shrubs-for-any-garden.htm

Tea Time!

Tea Time!

Winter is a funny month in the northeast. This weekend I was bundled up against the near freezing temperatures each time I went out, my scarf wrapped around me and my gloves constant companions. Today I am wearing my spring jacket, unbuttoned, and enjoying the sunny day. There are advantages to all seasons, each offering its own personality.

Sunday was that kind of day. After doing chores in the morning, we lit a fire in the den in the afternoon and settled in for our version of British tea. The logs in the fireplace were aged and burned nicely. We primed them with kindling from the branches that fall from the various trees in our backyard throughout the year using the older, seasoned wood.

When the fire was burning nicely, I set out two mugs of steaming water for our tea. We prefer green but black tea with a tad of milk is delicious, too. We enjoyed chocolate cake with chocolate icing as we sat by the fire, feeling its embracing warmth outside as we relished the pleasing snack inside. After our tea we settled back, my husband with his book and me with the jigsaw puzzle I was doing, and savored the rest of the afternoon.

There will be no fire on this warm day but the memory lasts. And as the seasons change and I experience each in its own way, I hope to bring moments like this with me, to treasure nature’s differences.

Tips for building a safe fire:

https://billysweetchimneysweep.com/properly-build-fire/ 

For an easy step-by-step for a beginner:

http://www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com/how-to-start-a-fire-fast-and-furious-and-without-fuss/ 

It's Still Summer

It’s Still Summer

It’s still officially summer and the temperature continues to be shorts-friendly. But things change in September. School vacation is over. Neighbors are back from the shore. The flowers that enlivened so many of our yards are off until next year. There are no more purple lilacs adding sweet perfume to the atmosphere. Faded blue hydrangeas are a reminder of former puffy table decorations. Dried flower stalks are starting to bend over the full-bodied hosta leaves.

There are always exceptions, of course, depending on where your garden is. My hibiscus plants are still pumping out those incredible blossoms, almost in a frantic end-of-season burst. The bees are still looking for nectar, gathering over the hummingbird feeder. And the mosquitoes are as big a nuisance as ever.

I actually like the change of seasons; there are always things of interest to see and learn. The insect on the last of the fading flowers I thought was a moth but it turned out to be a. Cabbage White Butterfly, a common species that is a frequent visitor to gardens. I discovered that they exist pretty much all over the world. Summer turns into Fall later in the month and things change even more dramatically. For example, the deciduous trees sport dramatically colored leaves, which then turn brown and fall leaving the branches bare and shape of the tree beautifully evident. I often stop and look up, delighted, into the burst of color.

There are so many possibilities in the change of seasons – to see something new, to rethink something familiar, to expand our understanding. The shift of my perception of moth to butterfly pleased me. I saw it anew. Perhaps that’s what the seasons really foster, new ways of seeing our usually familiar world.

Learn about the Cabbage white Butterfly:

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/cabbage_white.htm

Do Robins Herald Spring?

Do Robins Herald Spring? 

the robins are here

redbreasts hopping on brown grass

prompting thoughts of spring

This weekend it’s officially Spring. Hard to believe when today’s temperature is in the 30s to low 40s and tomorrow it will be hovering around freezing again. The forecast for Friday is snow.

But there are signs all around to bring our thoughts to warmer times. Daffodils are rising green and confident despite the weather predictions. Soon there will be bright, yellow flowers cheering up the barren garden. The lilac bushes are putting out tiny, cautious buds that will become fragrant purple blossoms. Geese are heading north in noisy flocks. And there are robins bounding over grass that is still recovering from being packed down with snow, finding worms and renewing expectations of the next season

Robins are credited with heralding Spring. Is that true? Well, some do migrate and return as winter starts to let go but many stay in their breeding grounds. They may be huddled in more wooded areas where there is more protection so they are less noticeable; it all depends on the availability of food. Our affection for the robin as herald remains in tact, however, and why not? Robin-spotting is a way for us to anticipate the more amiable season. 

In the midst of Winter it is always easy to pine for Spring but then we often ache for Summer and its swimming weather only to welcome Autumn for the heat-relief it brings. Then Winter calls to skiers, sledders, and everyone for holiday fun. The year’s variety, while it can be challenging, is emotionally bracing. It adds variety to our days and a sense of movement to our lives; almost like a well-written novel, it keeps us intrigued about what will happen next.

For the most part I like the change of seasons. And when I see the robins, even if they have been here all along, just out of my sight, my energy shifts into a lighter space. It’s time to expand, to plant, to come out of the house and greet the world that, like me, is ready to be new and refreshed. The first robin we see is a reminder of all of that.

Robin myths and reality:

http://tailsofbirding.blogspot.com/2008/03/robin-is-not-sign-of-spring.html

More about robins:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/lifehistory

The Trees are Showing Off

The Trees are Showing Off            

Here it comes – Autumn! It’s been Fall officially since September 22nd but it takes a while for Mother Nature to make the transition. Now the trees are showing off. Red and yellow leaves decorate the streets, both on the branches and on the ground. Some people around my neighborhood are already raking though it seems futile at this point; the trees have just begun their annual leaf-release.

I remember walking through the leaves that gathered on the sidewalk when I was growing up. I loved the crunchy sound of the drying maple leaves as I stomped through them. I still do. I make it a point to shuffle my feet in the colorful piles as I take my afternoon walk. Sometimes I kick the leaves into the air and watch as they fall back down; I stop at actually jumping into the raked mounds as I once did. I can’t help smiling, though. I am re-experiencing a pleasant childhood ritual.

As I grew older, I was the one in the family who did the raking. I never minded – even now it isn’t an onerous task. I don’t mind shoveling either, when Fall shifts into Winter and the snow falls. Yes, it’s work, but it is also a moment to reconnect with a younger me.

I know the leaves aren’t falling to amuse me. Trees are responding to the season. Daylight is shorter, temperatures are cooler, the air is dryer. The trees try to conserve their energy by using the nutrients stored in their roots and trunks. Photosynthesis is no longer available. The colors are there all the time but are masked by the chlorophyll during the warmer parts of the year. Now we can see their beauty.

I wonder if we do the same thing, mask our inner beauty, as we pass through our own sense of seasons. Do we succumb to peer pressure in our teen years? Do we hold back our creative spirit in the workplace? Are we reluctant to express our convictions to politicians, clergy, relatives, friends? Perhaps the trees can remind us that we, too, have a dazzling inner core. Our life seasons may be longer but they are just as compelling – if we allow ourselves to see who we really are.

Why do trees shed their leaves?

http://earthsky.org/earth/why-do-trees-shed-their-leaves

Puddles of Daffodils

Puddles of Daffodils

It’s sunny today, a welcome change after a weekend of pouring rain. The ground remembers, however. It is wet, wet, wet. Mud puddles are everywhere. The grass is sopping, the bushes soaked. Between the recently melted snow and the consistent rain, the earth doesn’t seem able to absorb any more.

Although it is inconvenient, there is reason for this madness. April showers will bring May flowers - even if so much of the rain came in March. The water loosens the soil, making it easier for roots to dig in and gives plants nutrition for a good start. The daffodils seem to agree. They are already pushing up through the puddles, reaching for the sun. They are happy to greet another Spring; the crocuses have bloomed already.

So while we squish around on the saturated ground, putting corn gluten on the lawn to control weeds, cleaning the vegetable patch from last summer’s stalks, and digging new plots for anticipated plantings, it’s good to remember that each season has its own character. And why not? Nothing is static in our world, not even us. Some of us like the snow while others bask in the heat of summer. We don’t all plant the same flowers, if we plant at all, or the same veggies. We all like different foods, read a variety of books, have a diversity of jobs. Nature expresses itself in its own way, and so do we. If the weather isn’t our favorite, all we need is a little patience  - Nature will get around to a new season. Soon there will be puddles of daffodils.

The source, science, and philosophy of the rhyme:

http://feelingsandflowers.com/136/april-showers-bring-may-flowers-%E2%80%93-discussing-the-rhyme/  

Winter Is Getting Warmer - Really

Winter Is Getting Warmer - Really

Even though we officially have to wait until March 20^th there is evidence of Spring all over. New leaves are sprouting on my azaleas. The lilac bushes have impatient buds on all the branches. I see robins hopping around the neighborhood pecking at the saturated ground for worms. Clumps of ice are slowly melting, revealing things that have been hidden for months. Practically everyone I know says the same thing: I’m ready for winter to be over.

We aren’t the only ones yearning for Spring. Ducks have had it hard this year. They migrate to find food and nesting places, both of which become difficult to find when there is an excess of snow and ice. The robins that have returned, until this week, were pecking away at the snow, trying to get underneath to find food. Geese were spotted making nests on mounds of snow and skidding on the underlying ice. It has been some winter.

And yet, the earth has had a warm year. In some areas, it has been an unseasonably warm winter. The earth has been setting records in the past dozen years. As temperatures rise, ice melts.  Polar bears are losing their ice environment. Islands have flooded. The oceans have risen. It is a self-perpetuating cycle: as temperatures rise, carbon dioxide increases and as CO2 increases, temperatures rise. It’s a complicated situation to understand, especially after an extended period of snow. So I went to NASA’s website for kids to help make sense of it all: http://climatekids.nasa.gov/climate-change-evidence/

I wonder if the definition of our seasons will be changing in the future and what is our part in that change? It’s not something to sluff off because it isn’t only the ducks and geese and polar bears that are affected, it’s us, too. 

Some late-season weather statistics:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/record-late-season-snowfalls

Waterfowl react to seasonal changes, too:

http://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-biology/understanding-waterfowl-cross-seasonal-effects?poe=mostRecent

The Palisades in Autumn

The Palisades in Autumn

My backyard extended a little further this past week as I traveled up the Palisades parkway along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River on the way to Massachussetts. The trees were dressing the cliffs with fall colors and the roads were crunchy with fallen leaves. It is autumn, at last. The temperatures here are still a tad warmer than is typical but that should be changing soon; I heard that tomorrow will only be in the mid-fifties.

Autumn is usually such a lovely time of year in the northeast. It provides a palette of reds and golds as the trees begin their resting period. It is a gradual transition from the intensity of summer into the extremes of winter. While each season has its typical characteristics, I find the edges between them most interesting. It helps the land and the animals prepare for what is coming. It signals migrating birds to fly.

I think it helps people, too, to anticipate the next phase of the year. We get clues on how to dress, what foods are best to eat, what activities are appropriate to engage in. I’m glad that I live in a four-seasons area even though in the midst of winter I sometimes wonder about a warmer climate. But then I would miss the snow. When the seasons change, it feels like I have finished reading one book and am ready, eager, to start on another. 

Wherever we live, whatever the weather, each season has its holidays, its plant cycles, and its own personality, its individual charisma, all there for us to enjoy.

A look at the Palisades and activities available:

http://www.njpalisades.org/

And a look at the characteristics of the seasons:

http://www.livescience.com/25202-seasons.html

Vernal Equinox

Vernal Equinox

The vernal equinox has just passed, the time when the sun shines right on the equator and the hours of day and night are just about equal. The March or Spring equinox brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and rejuvenating plants and flowers.

The crocuses here have already faded but the daffodils are just now flowering. Their leaves have been hinting at blooms for a while and the buds have been teasing but here are the blossoms - at last. And today it is snowing.

It has snowed in late March and early April before so this is not that unusual but it isn’t necessarily welcome. Most of us are looking forward to the temperature moving out of the snow zone. While we are eager for the season to change, we have to remember that the equinox is the cusp of the seasons, the turning point, not the closing of a door; the year holds on to a little of the past even as it turns toward the future.

The daffodils may huddle into themselves for a bit longer but they will return with vibrant yellow flowers and Spring will assert itself. The snow will be gone, early season plants will poke out of the ground, trees will start to green up; there are buds already on the branches.

Like the changing seasons, we tend to hold on to what is familiar, too. But while we honor the past, let’s not close the door on what is unfolding before us. Let’s enjoy Nature’s changes as we move into a new space. And let us be open to the promise of growth in our gardens, in our thinking, in ourselves.

Happy Spring!
 http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/march-equinox.html

A Touch of Spring

A Touch of Spring

Yesterday was sunny with a hint of warm air. The forecast for today is for 60 degrees. Daylight savings had us setting our clocks ahead to allow more daylight into our day. We are on the cusp of Spring.

The change of seasons will no doubt be welcome though it isn’t something to be taken for grated. I remember the year we had an early April snowstorm. The temperature may be pleasing now, yet we had snow only three days ago. Subtle reminders not to anticipate Mother Nature’s moods.

The female cardinal sits on the branch of a snow-covered bush after last Friday’s snowfall and looks out, waiting, I suppose, for a good nesting opportunity. She likes to build her nest in dense shrubbery or the branches of small trees. The shrubbery hasn’t started to leaf though, and nest protection is rare. That’s probably why I haven’t seen any nests in my backyard yet, though March is traditional nesting time.

I actually like these transitional times, especially winter/spring, which touches my essence. The air is infused with a sense of movement, a shifting of energy, that I find invigorating. Flocks of robins, the time-honored springtime harbingers, are everywhere, creating even more anticipation. The air vibrates with birdsong and mating calls. The crocuses are popping up from their sleep-states to check out the new season. Soon Violets, Lily-of-the-Valley, Lilacs, and Hyacinths will add their fragrances and colors to the scene. Ah, Spring. Time for us all to bloom.

Just the facts:

About seasons -

http://weather-facts.com/seasons-facts.php

About cardinals -

http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Cardinal.html#sthash.U4Hvg5JC.dpbs

About robins –

http://www.arkive.org/american-robin/turdus-migratorius/

Spring-Dreaming

The snow seems to have stopped for now. Today is meant to be close to sixty. The layers of ice that coated the streets are reluctantly melting and the piles of icy white are pulling back from lawns and parking lots all around town. Spring daydreams are interrupting my work; I sense March in the gusts of wind that rattle against my office window.

But not to get too far ahead of myself, I saw this barren nest in the low branches of a tree not yet convinced that it is time to send out its foliage. A wise decision, I think, as I listen to the latest weather report. The temperature is going to drop down to the twenties tonight.

This time of year is fickle. Almost as if Mother Nature can’t decide what to wear. I can relate. Winter jacket or fleece? Corduroy or linen? Long sleeves, short sleeves, sweaters, or Tees? And the nest? Will it be occupied by the same mother bird for a new batch of feathered babies or is it truly abandoned, left to fray to pieces over the course of the year?

The shifting of seasons is a time for observation. Here in the northeast, because of being in a geographical place that experiences four seasons, we have plenty of opportunities to contemplate the vagaries of nature, indeed, of our own imaginings. When things stay the same our thoughts tend to as well. Throw in a little snow and the neighbors come out to play. Let spring showers drench the soil and we hunger to plant a vegetable garden. Summer heat sends us to the shore, fall leaves turn us inward.

I think I saw a young cardinal on the feeder this morning. It seems a tad early for fledglings to be about but maybe not, maybe mommy birds are spring-dreaming, too. Are you?