Living in the country we find ways to pass time and to tell the passing of time. As a child I sat for hours at the time listening to the rural wisdom of my grandfather. He would sit with the stump of chewed King Edward cigar pursed in his lips (didn't smoke) and share stories with me which time and life had taught him. He told me how to tell how cold the upcoming winter would be by watching the signs around me. He told me the sumac (pronounced "shoemake" in the part of the country where I was born and raised) was most often the first thing to change colors in the fall and that when it turned red it wasn't long until all of the trees would take on their autumn hues. All it took was a walk along the railroad tracks in late September or early October to see evidence of the truth he was sharing with me.
Another sign that he shared was that of the blooming goldenrod in the pastures, along the woodland tree lines and the highways that crisscross my native state of Mississippi. He said that when the goldenrod first blooms it means that fall is on its way but when it is all in a total state of blooming, you can count the weeks until the first frost. "Six weeks from the date of the total blooming of this beautiful wildflower/weed you will experience your first frost for the year", told me many times.
Well, the goldenrod is not in full bloom yet, but we have had an early first bloom of the wild flower and while my grandfather would remind me that we don't have a sign yet, I think it is looking pretty promising that this long hot summer may end in an early fall. I first noticed the first blooms on goldenrod while driving down my long driveway on August 1. That is at least two weeks earlier than I normally notice its brilliant golden / yellow flowers decorating our passage to and from home. If this viewing turns into a sign, it could mean that our first frost will take place the last week of October and not early in the second week of November as our almanacs tell us to expect.
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