Re: Strange fall weather
gardenchat@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: Strange fall weather
  • From: J* S* <i*@q.com>
  • Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:00:19 -0700
We've got a frost advisory for the wee hours tomorrow; our first of the
season. Maples, dogwoods, liquidambers have colored up; trash trees (aspens,
birches, willows) are beginning to yellow and drop. Have not heard the geese
migrating from the local lake yet, but it's about time.

"I don't try to describe the future. I try to prevent it." -- Ray Bradbury




On Oct 24, 2011, at 2:06 PM, Johnson, Cyndi D Civ USAF AFMC 95 CS/SCOSI
wrote:

> I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary here. Fall weather is
> usually the best and so far it has not disappointed; no freezes as yet,
> nice sunny days without wind and cool in the morning/evening. That is
> sure to change in the next couple weeks. In the mountains where we camp
> the oaks and willows turned, they are gorgeous, and we went riding
> Sunday in more local mountains where the sycamores are actually looking
> quite pretty - my sycamores only turn brown, not sure what variety they
> have up there.
> We just don't get a big variety of birds in my area and I haven't
> noticed anything unusual. Maybe there are fewer mockingbirds this year?
> Despite good intentions I rarely manage to keep the birdfeeders stocked
> so they don't hang around the back yard to be observed. There are always
> a couple hummingbirds and I have seen them this year.
> But we did see the cutest little owl this morning on the way to work, he
> was sitting inside one of the drain things on the curb. Probably a
> burrowing owl. If I'd had the resolution on my phone set correctly I
> could post the picture I took of it. Sadly I am still figuring out how
> to work the thing. You'll just have to trust me that the pic looks good
> on my phone.
> I didn't order any bulbs this fall - I try to take pictures in the
> spring so I know where to put new ones but didn't get to it this year.
> The front has some big holes where I lost a couple rosebushes so I'd
> like to fill those in with other plants next spring. One of the silk
> trees in the dry garden died - some kind of wilt I guess - so after we
> pull it out this winter I'll probably replace it with another chilopsis
> (desert willow).
> If I had plants in my new office they would also be turning colors, not
> only do I no longer have windows but it is a steady 66 degrees in here
> and I'm freezing. However this is a good chance to use all those fleece
> throws I don't need at home and I don't really care how eccentric I
> look.
>
> Cyndi
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
> Behalf Of Aplfgcnys@aol.com
> Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 10:55 AM
> To: gardenchat@hort.net
> Subject: [CHAT] Strange fall weather
>
> Hi, Is anybody still out there?
> Is everybody else's fall weather as strange as ours?
> We are having mostly cloudy or rainy and cool - far too
> much gloomy for me.  Colors are very spotty - a few
> bright patches of maple and Virginia creeper and poison
> ivy, but many have not turned at all, and some have just
> dropped leaves.  My dogwoods are turning but not their usual
> brilliant colors.  The Kousa dogwood has not even began to
> turn.  And this is two weeks past Columbus Day, which is
> normally considered the peak date for fall color in this area.
>
> No frost, but days in the low 60s and nights in the low 40s.
> I am ready for frost.  My bulbs are here to plant, but the beds
> where I will plant them are still lush, and I just haven't had the
> heart to cut them down to plant bulbs. Don't have many to plant -
> the old back won't let me do too much, and at my age it is an
> act of faith to plant them anyway, but fall bulbs are too strong a
> habit to break.
>
> The strangest thing is the change in bird behavior.  All summer
> the woodpeckers would finish off a suet cake in less than two
> days.  I was too stingy to give them one more often than every
> two days.  The last three weeks, they have hardly eaten more
> than one a week.  Most noticeable is that the Red-Bellied woodies
> that we had a couple of families of have disappeared.  They have
> always been year-around residents, so where have they gone?
> Also, our large flock of goldfinches have disappeared.  At one time
> this summer you could see as many as six or seven lined up at
> the tubefeeder, and more flying in and out continually.  Now the
> feeder has titmice, chickadees, cardinals and an occasional
> nuthatch, but I haven't seen a goldfinch in weeks. They, too, were
> always year-round residents.  Any ideas?
> Auralie
>
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