It is Autumn Already!

[Badger Bob]

I got my first conker of the season this morning when a blackbird flicked it at my feet as I walked under the tree. I make it about three weeks earlier than last year but it means that SUMMER IS OVER - hooray!!! The blackbirds are digging in, the trees are fruiting like it is going out of fashion, I reckon we are in for a bit of a long cold winter this year.

[Heddwen]

yep, there was condensation on the windows this morning...my thoughts also

[Muddy Fox]

I have got that autumnal feeling in the air on my walks. Some gold leaves on the grass, beneath a couple of trees, very green ripe conkers, lots of them around the edge of one field. And this morning just beautiful, a delicate mist coming off the river in the morning sun. Silver spider's webs criss crossing the path before me looped, from branch to branch and trailing across my face and arms as I walk through the trees. I had a big spider on my arm the other day. a I can tell that I am the first one to walk that path in the morning because the webs are intact from the night's spinning. I'll be tracking people and animals from their prints in the mud next. I love autumn, all the colours.

[Reyna]

What's a conker?

Its getting that way here-the days are hot but its almost that desperate hot of the last few days of summer-those days that know the heat is about to fade so they burn as hot as they can. There's just a..maybe smell? In the air. *sigh* Summer's about to leave us.

[skh]

What's a conker?

A seed of the horse chestnut tree if I'm not mistaken.

They still need a few weeks here.

peace /|\
Sonja

[Badger Bob]

What's a conker?

All about conkers

[DJ Droood]

What's a conker?

All about conkers

oh those..I remember buying a paper bag full on a London street...they sing about them at Christmas, so they must be good, right? OMG...

oh wait, those aren't the edible kind of chestnuts.

[Susanne]

Thanks for the explanation about conkers! Yup, we call them buckeyes but they're not hardy around where I live so I only know them from when I was a kid & lived in a warmer area.
Autumn is just around the corner here as well. The apples are ripening on the trees, blueberries are plentiful (yum!) and I saw a flock of geese fly over when I was driving to work yesterday. I also saw a beautiful buck on my way to work this morning. The leaves will be turning soon. Some of the more stressed trees are already showing color.
It's a bit early for the geese to be leaving but when there is a nip in the air in the morning it seems to make the animals restless & flex their wings (so to speak) so we see a lot more of them out & about.
BTW....has anyone ever seen a hummingbird moth? I just got home & there was one feeding at the flowers on my porch. It was a fantastic little beastie! I've seen them before but never for so long & so close. I tried to get pictures but all I had was my phone. I got a bit of video as well. If it turns out OK I'll try to post it.
Enjoy the day!
Sue

[skh]

What's a conker?

All about conkers

Amazing! In primary schools in germany, conkers are made into more or less clumsy little puppets or toy animals, year after year, to dry out and become really ugly within days.

See here for examples.

I always tried to find one really round and beautiful and undamaged and carried it around with me as long as it was shiny and smooth. (Or until the trousers went into the washing machine.)

peace /|\
Sonja

[Jake]

there was condensation on the windows this morning...

And this morning just beautiful, a delicate mist coming off the river in the morning sun.

The apples are ripening on the trees, blueberries are plentiful (yum!) and I saw a flock of geese fly over when I was driving to work yesterday. I also saw a beautiful buck on my way to work this morning. The leaves will be turning soon.

That all sounds so lovely!

It was 104 degrees F (40 C) here today. I believe that's the 31st day in a row of triple-digit temperatures and the 63rd day this year overall here in Austin. And the forecast calls for more of the same for the foreseeable future.

I often miss real autumns, living this far south. (I do not, however, miss real winters! You can keep them!) It was always my favorite season as a kid. I mean we have autumn here but it's not the same. For one thing, it doesn't really start in August.

But it's not high summer here anymore either, regardless of the temperature. The quality of the sunlight has changed. And the western cottonwood is losing its leaves. And just this morning for the first time I heard a crow and looked up in time to see it fly away from the top of the cottonwood. They're sort of rare birds here, their ecological niche being mostly occupied by grackles, but there are a pair that show up daily on and around that cottonwood in August or September and disappear again in April or so for the past couple of years. Unusual.

One of the neatest things that's happened in my life since I began the OBOD course is getting more in touch with this Place where I live and becoming more aware of it's subtle shifts and changes. When I first moved here I thought there were two seasons: Hot & Dry and Warm & Wet.

Not to say I wouldn't enjoy some of those misty mornings or clear, bracing fall breezes. It would be such a relief from the heat! But we'll probably have to wait til December to get some of that.

[Susanne]

Not to say I wouldn't enjoy some of those misty mornings or clear, bracing fall breezes. It would be such a relief from the heat! But we'll probably have to wait til December to get some of that.

Oh, I was listening to the radio about the blistering heat & drought in Texas. I hope that you get some relief soon. By the time you get Autumn it will probably be below zero here with a foot of snow on the ground. I guess it's all what you're used to!
Stay cool....

[Badger Bob]

oh wait, those aren't the edible kind of chestnuts.

These are horse chestnuts, try to eat them and you will be left on all fours, whinnying and defecating on the floor...

[Huathe]

Hints of fall are starting here in the NC mountains too. The katydids sing loudly at night and the goldenrod and morning glory are in bloom. The nights have cooled just slightly too. And yes, the buckeyes ( Conkers ) are ripening here too. And the fat female spiders make orb webs on my porch. I let them be.

However fall seems to come slower and later here than it used to. Global warming is having it's effects.

[Cosmic Ash]

I saw the first ripe blackberries last week, and some hawthorn berries too. I've taken the honey off my bees and we're starting to get them ready for winter. Despite all the rain it still doesn't feel like the season's turning just yet...

[Susanne]

I've taken the honey off my bees and we're starting to get them ready for winter.

Oh, I've been considering keeping bees for a while now but haven't gotten going on it yet. I'd love to hear about your experiences.
Maybe we could start a beekeeping thread so as not to get off topic here.
Susanne

[Rachel]

Oh yes, shorter days, foggy mornings, and harvesting... i have lived in the same home now for about 18 years and i have to say that this is the most abundant fruit year i have ever seen-apples, hawthornes, wild raspberries and blackberries, wild and planted blueberries- all loaded with fruit...my gooseberries bent to the ground with fruit-black currants gone crazy and some american plums i planted a decade ago bearing fruit for the first time. Elderberries!! Chokecherries!! i cannot keep up with the bounty-no freezer, so pies and jelly galore. I'm glad the bears and birds will have plenty!

Just wondering, has anyone else seen similar?- I'm in Northern New Hampshire.

Peace,

[Susanne]

Just wondering, has anyone else seen similar?- I'm in Northern New Hampshire.

Yes indeed, I have seen the same, especially the apples & elderberries. I'm in northern Vermont.
A sign of a long hard winter to come?!

[Rachel]

A sign of a long hard winter to come?!

Well, it will be interesting to see-the woodshed is full, just in case!

[Zylah]

It's my first year here in central-northern California, so I don't know what to expect! Lately I have noticed only that the sun sets sooner; I'm told that we only really have Wet and Dry seasons here. I can only hope that if it is indeed a cold, hard winter back East, my children will be able to join me before it sets in.

[helenoftheways]

Walking in the park with my dog this autumn, I found this mystery nut - see here!
I first thought it was an acorn, but it wasn't! (Read all the comments...!)
Yesterday I discovered the tree that it came from!


We are having an 'Indian summer' here in the UK, with temps up to 30C! Makes up for the cr@p summer we had!