The Days of Part Summer, Part Fall

Across the Fence #304

We’re now enjoying the days that I refer to as part summer, part fall. One day it’s 90 degrees and short sleeve weather. Two days later a cold wave swoops down upon us, plunging temperatures into the 40’s and 50’s, and giving us thoughts of sweatshirts and long underwear. Cold, gray skies block the sun’s warmth, making it feel even colder. Jackets and sweatshirts replace t-shirts and shorts.

It’s September and the days are getting shorter and cooler. September reminds us that winter is just around the corner. If I had any say in the matter, I’d give us four months of beautiful, fall weather. That would take us into January. A couple months of snow and freezing temperatures would be enough winter for most people. Then March would transition us back into spring.

That sounds like a plan to me. The older I get, the harder it is to stomach six months of winter. At least it seems like six months to me. On a more positive note, temperatures in the 40’s during January or February would bring out the shorts and t-shirts and people would be sunning themselves on blankets laid out on the snow. We Northerners who don’t head south for the winter are an interesting species.

I know most of our feathered friends have packed up and headed south. One day they were all invading our bird feeders, like a swarm of locusts, and the next day there were only a few Mourning Doves and Sparrows to be found. That evening I watched as flock after flock of birds descended on the cornfield behind the house. The top of the corn became black and the noise from all the birds was a constant racket. Eventually they all rose, as if on command, and a black cloud that must have numbered in the thousands, filled the air. I guess they can feel the part summer, part fall days of September too. They have a long journey ahead of them as they seek out warmer, southern climates and need to get started on their journey. There’s safety in numbers and they have plenty of fellow flyers to chatter with during the long flight.

I have lots of questions about their trip. Who’s the leader of the pack? Is there an Alpha bird that all the rest follow, or do they take turns flying point and everyone else drafts on the leading birds? How do they find their way? Next spring, do the same birds come back to the same areas and nesting places? If they do, it’s truly amazing when you consider that us humans have trouble finding a location when armed with maps, written directions, and a GPS device. One more question, do they tell their friends where the best bird feeders were located the previous year?

Those are just a few of my questions as my mind bounces back and forth between summer and fall weather.

Another species that migrates south are butterflies, but they’re still plentiful around our place. The Monarch butterflies left on their long journey south to Mexico at the end of August, but the Clouded Sulphur, Cabbage, and Alfalfa butterflies are still around in great numbers. Butterflies are as fascinating as birds, and their ability to find their way is just as amazing. Did you know that the Monarchs that return in the spring are the third and fourth generation of those that left in August. Their normal lifespan is only two months? Scientists are still researching how they find their way back. Their flight patterns seem to be inherited or they have an internal sun compass. It’s too bad they don’t have a better radar system to avoid smashing into car windshields.

This was Labor Day weekend, and it always brings back memories of how we would spend the “holiday” laboring in the tobacco fields. Heavy dew on September mornings, reminds me of harvesting tobacco. Early in the morning, the tobacco piles would be wet with dew when we began spearing. It was also cold enough to require a jacket. By noon it was usually t-shirt weather and really hot in the peak of the shed. September can’t seem to make up its mind which way to go.

Lets hope the fickle winds of September blow in some nice, warm, sunny weather on September 25th. That’s the day I walk our daughter down the aisle in an outdoor wedding ceremony in Waukesha. September is always a month of change and transformations. It’s quite fitting to have a wedding during this time of year.

I think fall is my favorite season. The weather is usually mild enough to still go around in short sleeves. It doesn’t take half an hour to put on all the clothes needed for a simple trip to the mailbox, like it does in the heart of winter. I love all the sights, sounds, and smells of fall. Take a walk or bike ride in the country and enjoy the brilliant fall colors, listen to the wind as it rattles the leaves of a field of golden corn, hear the crunching of new-fallen leaves under your feet, and drink in the aroma of the many fall smells. It’s a great time of year, even September, when the migration of birds and butterflies has begun, and the cold winds remind us that change is in the air.