End of Summer

When a Flowering Dogwood that has presented a healthy green color for several months suddenly turns bright red, it means that summer has come to an end.  This is one of the signals that tells me to finish up my summer tasks and prepare for the more labor intensive winter management season.  If the weather continues dry, I’ll probably begin cedar clearing activities around October 14.  Weather wet enough to delay clearing will mean that we’re getting sufficient rain to raise the well level.  Either option will make me happy.

Autumn skies seem ideally suited to contrails.  I know that aircraft leave contrails at other times of the year, but it’s now that the deep blue of the sky is most often left uncluttered by clouds.  I know that this phenomenon produces no odor detectable by me, but a person burning trash somewhere upwind of me made it seem that I smelled jet exhaust.  I was reminded that no matter how much I wished it to be true, Blue Jay Barrens does not exist independently of the surrounding community.  I’m constantly assaulted by uncontrollable forces that influence the activities on this property.  The best I can do is hope that positive results stem from any outside interaction.

Two frosts have made the prairie grasses begin their transition to reddish gold.  This may be the most attractive period in a tall grass prairie’s life.

The deciduous trees have begun their journey to a final blaze of color before leaf fall.  It’s still too early to tell how the drought will affect color or the speed at which the leaves will drop.  Drought years are notorious for having dull colors and rapid loss of leaves.  It’s not unusual for a string of cloudy days to arrive just before peak leaf color and put a dull finish on everything.  Combine that with a drizzly rain and strong winds and the leaf show can flash past without notice.  Since I really need that rain, I’m betting it will stay dry.

Fog rising out of the Ohio Brush Creek valley is also an annual Autumn event.  Cold air settling over the warm creek water produces some extremely thick fog.  This is the only time of year that you get such an extreme temperature difference between water and air.  This reminds me of my days as a youngster watching insecticide clouds rise above the housetops as the mosquito control truck cruised neighboring roads.  Swirling clouds of water vapor are much more calming than a release of toxic gas, but they are still filling me with an urgent need to complete my summer projects so I can move into a new season.

Just as I Thought

Yesterday was the first time this week that I was able to get home in time to see Blue Jay Barrens in the sunlight. As I feared, the rain and wind have stripped many of the trees of their colorful leaves.

One of the most startling sights each year is the opening of the ridge top woods. The ridge has a narrow top, so there’s only room for a few trees before the ridge drops off the back side. The mass of leafed trees looks so substantial during the summer that you forget the actual sparseness of trees. When the first holes develop in the fall, my first reaction is to mount an expedition to make sure all of the trees are still there.

The massive Tuliptrees that tower above the cedars have been reduced to mere skeletons. One day the cedars will lose their battle with the overshadowing Tuliptrees and become deadwood structure within a deciduous forest. That event is still far in the future.

Development of large leafless blocks indicates that the days of colorful fall leaf displays have come to an end. Even if the remaining trees were to develop the most beautiful of colors, there has been too much leaf loss to recapture the joy of autumn leaf turn.

The old fencerow trees that effectively divide prairie patches during the summer have thinned enough to see from one prairie to the next. The view becomes more open each year as I remove invasive woody plants.

The large blocks of oaks seem to be unaffected by the arrival of fall. These trees will hold their leaves into winter, but instead of bright colors, they will gradually dry out and turn brown. It seems that the fall colors came in a flash and now I’m just left with the afterimage.

A Bit of Color

When I left for work yesterday morning, it was dark. When I got home yesterday evening, it was dark. That, combined with a few days of cloudy drizzly weather, gave me the need to see some color. There were so many beautifully colored leaves brightening the landscape on the last sunny day. I can sense the color leaching from them with every little rain shower. I thought I might feel better if I pulled out a few of the brightly colored leaf shots I collected on Columbus Day. The Flowering Dogwoods were particularly vibrant with their mix of red, orange and yellow leaves.

Sassafras trees were doing their part by adding some gold and yellow to the display. The gold coloration occurs as a transition from yellow to brown. Sometimes the change happens so quickly that gold is only noticeable for a single day.

Sumac wins the prize for bringing the brightest red to the landscape. I did a presentation for some nursing home residents many Octobers ago that involved bringing in a big box of attractive autumn leaves. When I researched my audience, I found that many couldn’t see well and most were not mobile enough to come outside. That eliminated the possibility of a slide show or short outdoor walk. I thought they might enjoy seeing the leaves, so I went out and collected the brightest, most colorful leaves I could find. After introducing myself, I went around the room and dropped a handful of leaves into each person’s lap. I think the people were startled at first, but they soon started picking leaves out of their piles and following along as I described the life histories of the plants that produced the leaves. Soon they were all taking about their leaves and comparing colors or talking about how leaves or plants had impacted their lives. We ended up with leaves all over the room, but the thing I remember most is one woman who kept putting a bright red Sumac leaf in front of her mouth and saying “Look at my ruby red lips.” I think we all had a lot of fun, except for maybe the person who had to clean up all those leaves.

This Flowering Dogwood trended more towards a peach blush. Most colors appeared quickly this year. I’m afraid that by the time we manage another sunny day, the colors will be on the decline.

Sugar Maple leaves produced a lot of bright yellow, but it seems that most of the leaves were blemished with brown spots. When I came home yesterday, the section of our township road that goes through the neighbor’s woods was completely covered with maple leaves. The rain we had during the day must have added just enough weight to pull the leaves free. I suppose this means that I’ll be seeing the start of naked maple trees when I next climb the hill to view the woods.

Farewell to Summer

With frost warnings being posted for the first night of October, I thought I should get out and say goodbye to some of those things that still link me back to warm summer months. The bright yellow Goldenrod flowers won’t stand up to a heavy frost. Even a light frost could take the vibrancy from the blossoms and leave them with a dusty brown cast.

I went to my favorite spot at the top of The Hill to get a general overview of the landscape. With temperatures in the mid 40’s, weather conditions bore no resemblance to summer. A light mist of rain fell all day. Not enough rain to register in the rain gauge, but enough to continually coat the camera lens with vision distorting beads. The strong north wind made it impossible to protect the camera, so it was a choice of constantly cleaning the lens or taking slightly distorted photos. I did a little of both. Heavy clouds made light conditions about equal to five minutes after sundown, so most of my shots weren’t going to look crystal clear anyway.

The hilltop prairie is full of Gray Goldenrod. The grasses are looking a little bit brown, but the yellow of the Goldenrod makes it a very cheery scene. If the clouds stick around over night, we’ll avoid a frost and the Goldenrod will continue blooming for another week of so. The meteorologists seem to have us in a perpetual Annie forecast, meaning that it’s always raining today but “The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow”.

Some of the trees are beginning to put on their colors. Weather definitely influences the progression of the seasonal change, but many species take their cues from day length and can be counted on to begin their transition to winter at the same time each year. Lack of any severe drought conditions through the summer should mean an especially colorful fall.

The Eastern Red Cedars are looking very green and full. I’m expecting them to carry that bright green color right into January.

The Indian Grass flowered a little bit later than normal this year, but each seed head is now full of ripening seed. I hope that translates into flocks of sparrows feeding on the seeds through the winter. There have been years in the past when sparrows have spent the entire winter feeding on Indian Grass seed. Even through heavy snow and ice storms there always seemed to be some seed accessible to the birds. I’ll miss the warm days of summer, but I’ll make up for it by enjoying the days of fall and winter.

Searching for Color

Blue Jay Barrens has transitioned quickly into a winter like appearance. The cedars are green and the grasses still hold some of their golden hue, but the colors of fall have been left behind. I have this feeling that I somehow missed the annual show of colors. The drought certainly hurt the display this year. Many leaves went directly from green to brown. The trees that did color couldn’t fill the voids left by brown or early shed leaves. I’m desperately searching for a way to satisfy my need for autumn color.

If the drought doesn’t abate soon, the big cedars will take on the orange-brown glow shown by this seedling. That would certainly give me some color, but it’s just depressing to think of trees being orange when they are supposed to be green. I need to find another source of color.

I just need to think on a smaller scale. Down close to the ground are a few plants that have responded to the cool temperatures by brightening the color of their leaves. This Dwarf St. Johnswort has chosen soft pastels for its going into winter wardrobe.

Wild Strawberries turn a bright red in response to cold temperatures. Most of these plants are hidden by tall grass and it takes a bit of digging to find them.

Greenbriers provide a brilliant orange when backlit by the sun. The exposed vines have already dropped their leaves, but young vines hidden in the short grass are still putting on a good show.

Basal leaves of the goldenrods display the reddish purple color that I associate with cool temperatures. This is a common color of plants in the early spring and late fall. I think I’m ready to be seeing the reddish purples of late March. Is it too early to be thinking of spring?

I had to pull this bright red Dewberry up out of the grass for a good shot. The Dewberry stems sprawl through the grass at just the right height to tangle around your ankles. These plants may even display some intelligence. How else can you explain their ability to work as a team; one stem pulling your pant leg up above your boot top while the other scratches a pattern across your shin?

A young sprout of the Late Low Blueberry has taken on a Christmas red. I guess that’s OK since the stores have now declared Halloween to be the start of the Christmas season.

This may be the last of the asters for this year. I guess there’s still a bit of color at Blue Jay Barrens. You just have to move the dead stuff out of the way to get a look at it.

Fall Color

One of the best autumn features is the colorful wooded landscape. Blue Jay Barrens has had a miserable showing of color this year. The largest factor contributing to the poor color is the extended drought that is now well into its fourth month. In many respects conditions remind me more of November than October.

As leaves of the large maples and ashes lost their chlorophyll, they transitioned from green to light brown and fell early from the trees. This resulted in grayish patches of bare branched trees where normally would be a brilliant display of yellow and orange.

In order to enjoy the fall colors, I’ve had to reduce my sights to focus on the smaller displays. Staghorn Sumac always produces brilliant autumn colors. We’ve never had weather conditions of any kind that diminished the fall beauty of this plant.

Dwarf Sumac is almost as reliable as the Staghorn. The Dwarf Sumac has a wider variety of shades ranging from red to yellow. I find this to be the ideal blend of traditional October colors.

Some of the sapling sized trees fared well enough despite the drought to produce some colorful foliage. The little Sassafras came through with some reds and yellows, while the larger specimens shed brown leaves.

The few small Sugar Maples that produced any color still had a lot of brown in the leaves. I’m used to there being a soft bed of leathery maple leaves beneath the trees, but this year all the leaves are dry and crunchy.

There’s still a chance that the large oaks will produce some color in the woods, but they never display anything as attractive as the reds on these smaller specimens.

The Black Gums have turned a brilliant shade of red and the black discolorations almost look like a natural mottling. I have yet to find a mature Black Gum anywhere near Blue Jay Barrens. The plants I do find are all young specimens colonizing the old crop fields. I’m curious as to the location of the seed source for all of these young trees. Where ever the source, they are doing their part to make the fall transition a little less bleak.