"...As Sure as the Turnin' of the Earth"
The season's about to change. Summer lost it's grip 3 weeks ago just before Gustav moved through Louisiana and East Texas. It didn't really affect us here...just gave a day of clouds. The highs have been slowly falling. We're in the mid to lower 90's now for highs and mid 70's to 80's for lows.
Even though it's the first week of September it's still too early to start thinking of pumpkins and fall festivals. Just the same I've seen some strange things lately...not really sure what to make of it.
I don't know if there's something to it or if it's just me but when I leave for work in the mornings there's that 'smell' in the air...I smell 'Autumn' coming. The trees are starting to drop their leaves, but it's strange because the leaves are green. The grass has slowed WAY down even though we are still watering on the same schedule. This is all happening about 6 weeks too early and it's been way too warm to account for it.
The squirrels we have in the back yard are fatter than ever and even though there's a bumper crop of pecans they are fighting among themselves for them like I've never seen them do. My wife's horses never totally shed their winter coats and have already begun to put on another.
Even though it's the first week of September it's still too early to start thinking of pumpkins and fall festivals. Just the same I've seen some strange things lately...not really sure what to make of it.
I don't know if there's something to it or if it's just me but when I leave for work in the mornings there's that 'smell' in the air...I smell 'Autumn' coming. The trees are starting to drop their leaves, but it's strange because the leaves are green. The grass has slowed WAY down even though we are still watering on the same schedule. This is all happening about 6 weeks too early and it's been way too warm to account for it.
The squirrels we have in the back yard are fatter than ever and even though there's a bumper crop of pecans they are fighting among themselves for them like I've never seen them do. My wife's horses never totally shed their winter coats and have already begun to put on another.
Could it be nature knows something we don't? Well, if the Farmer's Almanac is right it says we will have a colder than normal winter here. Granted, a cold winter for us would probably be like a winter from heaven for LFoAB and Brother Yam up there in Minnesota but us Texicans get cold easy.
The last 10 or 15 years here we've had 3-4 months of Not-Summer rather than anything you could call Winter. If we do get a freezing blast it's only a day or so here and there. Winter has been lasting from about December 15th until January 12th then everything blooms...no joke, the trees here had buds on them last Valentines day. It wasn't that it had been warm or anything just no freezes to speak of.
From the mid 70's through the late 80's we had longer winters with frost about the first of November and sleet on St. Patty's day. I remember several stretches from 86-89 where the temps stayed below freezing for 2 or 3 weeks straight and the lakes would freeze over. Killed back quite a few shrubs and lawns.
Or maybe we are going to have a record early cold spell...I've seen it snow on Halloween here...and then it will be back to business as usual.
I hope we do have a cold winter. It would be a nice to have 4 seasons for a change. Keep you posted.
Labels: Weather
posted by Beast1624 at 4:00 PM
2 Comments:
That's how I know when autumn is coming, too. There's a distinct smell, not strong, not familiar, but not unknown. It's not the smell of growth, of lush life, but of sleep. Not death, not yet, but a lack of plant activity.
A couple of weeks ago, the Mrs and I were in northwestern Minnesota and a cold front came across the Dakotas and brought with it that smell. It smells like the promise of ice.
I love that smell, but I'm a Northern guy. Your summers would kill me.
RE Summer: I grew up here and I have always hated our summers. My main argument to my wife for moving to Montana is that there we can keep putting on clothes until we get warm...here, comes a point where you can't take any more off and your still miserable.
Thanks for the comment...I love the way you describe the coming of winter!
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