The Autumnal Equinox is Just Over a Week Away

The end of summer is approaching but, I don't like to think about endiings.  I would rather think about beginnings.  I want to look ahead so, at this time of year when some are thinking of the end of summer, I am busy thinking about what lies ahead in the next season.  Autumn or fall as we call it in the United States is a time of changing.  We are of course changing seasons as based on the Sun and our rotation around it and the way our little old Earth tilts to and fro as we go barreling around the sun at over 66,000 mph. It is also a time for the leaves to change and for us to change from our most productive farming season o one that is slower but can still be productive to those of us interested in fall gardens.  For photographers, poets and those that just love the color of life, autumn means changing leaves and warm colors as we mock the trees' colors in our clothes and our home decor.  

There are a number of things that mark the change of seasons we are about to experience and here is a list of a few of those things:

Sweet gum tree leaves begin to change from deep green to yellow (beginning to see the yellow in the forest around our home.)

Sumac leaves begin transform to brilliant red (one of the first to show her fall color, sumac has begun to change and change quickly she is.)

Wild flowers bloom in sky blue, purple and scores of shades of yellow and white (This always starts in August and now many of these are in full bloom.)

Golden Rod first begins to bloom in August but covers much of the southern United States in brilliant yellow by early October. (I saw the first goldenrod blooming in Late August but it still isn't at its peak yet. When it is I will tell you because you can bet that the first frost in our area will occur six weeks after that event)

Most of the primary row crops in Mississippi are harvested, Cotton, Corn, Soybeans, Rice, etc. are all being taken from the fields to the marketplace.  (Though I don't live in a part of the state where the large farms and plantations are located I know these crops are being harvested now. Some of them are late this year because we had a long cool spring that delayed the growing season)

River Birch trees drop their leaves in far greater volume than usual (This has begun.  Our trees have lost about half of their leaves.  They drop leaves all summer but now they are shedding all of their leaves )

Pecan trees begin to lose their leaves and the pecan harvest begins (not seeing this yet)

The night skies in every small town are lit brilliantly every Friday night by the stadium lights from high school football games. (Yes, we are well into the high school football season.)

People sleep with their windows open to take advantage of the cool nights. (This weekend the temperature in our town is supposed to drop into the upper 50s F. so that will begin this weeend.)

Farmers' markets start selling pumpkins. ( I haven't seen them yet but I bet I will either this weekend or next.)

Forest burst forth with colors red, yellow, orange and deep almost purple red. (Not yet but see some of the other signs above)

The sky looks bluer and the sunsets get redder. (The sky has begun to deepen its color because of the dry air but I have not seen the first sunset ignite the evening sky yet.)

The wind blows out of the north more often. (a north wind is predicted for this weekend.)

Oak trees begin to drop their acorns (this is just beginning to happen)

Spider webs hang from everything in the pastures, woods, and shrubbery as they do their late year "harvesting of prey" before the frost sends them underground or where ever it is they go for the winter. ( This is taking place.  I hate spiders and seems like every morning when I go out to feed the chickens and horses I wander through a spider's web.  I have been bitten by a black widow and don't want another encounter with a spider.)

The ducks and geese fly south for the winter (a friend of mine said that the past two  mornings he has seen a couple of flights of green winged teal scouting the lakes in the area near his home.)

Wood smoke is in the air. (Haven't smelled burning leaves yet but that is primarily because we haven't had much rain lately and folks are being cautious with open fire and the dry terrain.)

If you are lucky on an afternoon with a light breeze you can look up and see monarch butterflies making their way south to Mexico. (this is very rare to see but if you are going to see them it will be in October.)

Our pet pig Scooter will start adding to his "nest" (He has a nice warm house but he will gather sticks and straw...just like the three little pigs... and add a warm bed to his house. (He hasn't started this process yet. but, he has started putting on his long, coarse winter coat)

Festivals are celebrated all across the south where everyone can buy canned goods, baked goods, arts and crafts and even early Christmas gifts if you are so inclined and can plan that far ahead. Some of these festivals we attend here in our part of the country are CelticFest, A Day in the Country, German Fest, Wells Fest, Florence Day and more. (CelticFest was last weekend so the festival season is "on")

The Fairgrounds start showing signs of the Annual State Fair that has been held in the fall of the year in Jackson for more than 150 years (First you see the taffy booths begin to setup and then the pronto pup booths. After that the beer tents are placed along the midway and slowly but surely the fairgrounds fill with booths, tents, and just a day or two before the fair begins the rides arrive and are assembled. The taffy booths and the pronto pup booths are in place, now.)

There are scores and scores of these and other signs but, I have only listed few of the things that highlight and foretell the coming of another new season.

As I wrote earlier, it is still summer in Mississippi.   We are beginning to feel the change of seasons.  If I look closely, I can see the signs.  This weekend the temperatures are predicted to be a little cooler so I know that autumn and her grandeur are not far off.  I am already thinking about that first cold morning when I can go to my front porch, sit in a rocking chair with a hot cup of coffee and smell the wood smoke from a distant fireplace as drifts across the woods.

Until next time...John

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