Late Heat

Today is the first full day of autumn,but it came in the form of a heat wave.A few scattered trees and vines have started to turn,but mostly we have the summer appearance in the Mid-Atlantic region.Fall decorations such as indian corn are being sold,but it will be some weeks before we really see a transformation in nature.The nights must get closer to freezing.Until then,we will have to look carefully to detect the autumnal ways.

Nature Note:The Wasp Nest

I noticed that common paper wasps were building a nest under a second storey window,but I decided to leave them alone.Instead of spraying poison under that window,I let the docile insects be.Now the nest is very active,measuring about 5 inches across,or 13 cm.Some would disagree with that decision,but I felt there is enough poison in the environment,especially near a stream,where the poison would have ended up.These wasps have harmed no one,and will be finished within a few weeks,their breeding cycle completed.

Nature Note:Summer Concert

A free summer concert was heard this morning.Performing were mourning doves,field crickets,tree crickets and a Carolina chickadee.The summer seemed more complete with this avian music.The Mid-Atlantic region was being itself through its hot weather and melodious wildlife.Growers could feel themselves to be at home.

Nature Note:More Fine Days

The spectacular July weather has persisted in the Mid-Atlantic region.You would think you are in Arizona,with the low humidity.The early stages of drought are beginning to be evident.Dry leaves are starting to fall from the trees.Mowers are getting a welcome break.Weeders aren't,as garlic mustard continues to poke up everywhere.As the ground dries out,it becomes increasingly difficult to pull weeds.You can feel the hardness of the drying land on the soles of your feet.Eventually,the land will get so hard,it hurts to walk on it.Humidity is supposed to return to the region by tomorrow,but the thunderstorms it brings often do not yield enough rain to reverse the dessication.

Nature Note:Mosquitoes Return

Ferocious mosquitoes have emerged in recent days,reviving memories of last summer as they bit growers going about their tasks,or resting on their decks and porches.Even if there isn't visible standing water,the parasites are attacking us,biting hands and arms.The humidity has been low in the Mid-Atlantic region,so it is hardly a tropical paradise for the insects.Temperatures have been below normal as well.Indeed,June 2009 was nine degrees Fahrenheit cooler than last June.The weekend will bring more normal conditions,only to return to pleasant weather in the early part of next week.The general reaction to this unusual gift has been one of astonishment.The air conditioners have been rested for entire days, or at least part of the day-unheard of in July.

Nature Note:Back to Flocks

The resident Canada geese are back in their flocks,having split up for a while in order to breed.Indeed,much of the growth and reproduction in the natural world has already been accomplished in the Mid-Atlantic by early June.The chrysanthemums have budded in preparation for their first blooming.Early tomato plants have green fruit hanging even now.The first seeding has sprouted or not by now.There is still plenty of time to replant seed or seedlings to reach the season's goals.

Nature Note:March Snow

Residents of the Mid-Atlantic region are taking a good look at any snow left on the ground.It may well be the last significant snow of the winter.Unseasonable warmth is on the way for the weekend.Although it can snow into April here,late snow usually doesn't amount to anything.It may stick to the ground for a few hours before it melts away.In the early light,the snow sparkled.It was powder snow.Shoveling it was close to effortless,so it was easy to regret that it will soon pass.

Nature Note:Ice Again

So far,much of the Mid-Atlantic region has seen precious little snow this winter.Mostly it's been a wintry mix of snow,sleet and freezing rain.Yesterday morning began with sleet,then rose to plain rain,and finally fell back to freezing rain overnight,ending as plain rain once more this morning.It's a shifting about of layers of temperature and moisture,a very dynamic regime.The ice decorates the trees and shrubs even as the rain pours,saving the day from dullness.There is something rarefied to look at beyond the cold buckets being dumped on our heads.

Nature Note:Low Traffic

Traffic at the bird feeder has been low recently.The other day,I found out why:a Cooper's hawk flew off as I approached.The Cooper's is the largest of the two common forest hawks in the Mid-Atlantic region.It preys mainly on birds and small mammals.The Cooper's has been visiting the feeder for some years now.That doesn't bother me.It's just another part of the ecological web.The birds of prey keep the other species healthy by preventing overpopulation.

Nature Note:Typical November

The day before Thanksgiving is gray with a cold breeze.That's typical of November in the Mid-Atlantic region.Yesterday a snow squall blew in.For a few moments,it snowed furiously.In the end,nothing remained of it but a memory.That snow is like the wild turkeys that once were easily found over the region.Now they are pretty much hidden in the deep woods,and seldom seen except by hikers and hunters.Even they may not have encountered many without concerted effort.Reintroduced by state game agencies,their numbers are stable to growing.

Nature Note:Cool Cut

It was amazingly cool this morning.At 6AM,it was 55F-or about 12.6 C.Sitting on the deck yesterday,I watched the cold front blow in.The clouds were being pushed by a northwest wind.All summer has been like this.I can't remember having so many cool breaks in the Mid-Atlantic region.When I thinned my Asian pear tree out this morning,I didn't sweat at all.It might as well have been September.There is no sign of global warming in the region this summer.