Seasons of Change

As you probably know, I’m not the biggest fan of fall and winter although I will acknowledge there is truth in the above quote. As summers moves into fall, I do tend to get in some sad moods but I can see the beauty in the changes. There are times when I wish I lived in a place that was summer like all year but, having lived all my life here in the Midwest, I would likely miss the seasons.

We were out this morning for our normal Sunday walk at the park we typically go to on Sundays. There is a big open grass area and some small ponds so it makes for perfect Red-Winged Blackbird habitat. I like going there in the early spring because, when you hear the blackbirds, you know spring is not far away.

Today there were no blackbirds. The song sparrows also appear to have flown away for the season. Both eat insects which kind of die off in the winter. And they feed on seeds which aren’t produced once things get cold. Plus, they like to feed on the ground and that can often be covered in snow during the colder months. So they abandon us for warmer places.

Our hummingbird feeder has seen an increase in activity because they also need to head out soon. The vultures are still soaring overhead but they’ll be gone before too long as well. All signs that summer is nearly done and colder weather will soon be here.

I miss them when they are gone but it does give me signs of hope when they show up for the first time.

So I planted this one annual back in the spring. I forget what it is. But it had one flower on a long stalk. Shortly after the flower opened, it was eaten – probably by a deer. I left the remaining stalk which continued to grow through the summer and finally managed to produce a second flower a few days ago. I mentioned it to my wife and we were impressed by the resilience. Then, a deer came by and ate the flower again. Like they were waiting all summer for a second bite at the flower. Now it is just a poor stalk again and will be so until the cold kills it off.

There are a handful of flowers the deer seem to avoid. I keep saying I should just plant those but it is hard not to get carried away in the spring when the greenhouses are filled with all kinds of flowers and I just want one of each.

Some leaves have turned but I suspect this isn’t going to be a great fall because the last part of August was hot and dry. That usually means the leaves don’t stick around for long. We had a big storm roll through and a whole bunch of the ones that had turned just got blown off the trees.

And that’s all I’ve got for now.