THE GOLDEN SEASON

STRANGE SUMMER - it was a strange summer indeed. Early July started the strangeness by being unusually warm with many 90-plus-degree, humid days and equally hot nights. It was a little scary - “this is just the beginning of summer? At this rate, what’s the rest of it going to be like?” Luckily, that was it (the “Dog Days” of July?). It was also another unusual summer without the masses of insects suspended in the humid air that we used to have to wade through. Fewer bugs around outside lights and no more “windshield effect”, like when we had to pull over to scrape insects off our windshields in the past (though there was a significant Black Fly hatching here after recent late-August rains). Fewer insects also explains somewhat why it seems there were less birds in general this season, as well. Also, there was not really a lot of rainfall. In the beginning of summer - due to seemingly endless heat and drying winds - there was algae in Cooper Lake, mats of algae in the Sawkill and Kingston Reservoir #1, the streams were getting very low and the woods were bone-dry. Luckily we’ve had just enough rain that we’re no longer in a drought and have avoided serious fires so far. Hopefully, rains will continue because with so much underbrush from past storms still in the woods and with our overgrowth of highly flammable (particularly when dry) Mountain Laurel this is something we’re still going to have to monitor (especially with many tons of dried tinder collecting on the forest floor in a few weeks). For more on the prospect of wildfires in the Catskills, please see my article “A Catskills Wildfire?” in my blog on my website (address below).

SUMMERFALL FLORA - September can be a crazy-beautiful time here in the southeast Catskills. It usually starts out summery with warm - even hot - days, but the nights most commonly will be very “unsummery” with their coolness (even though there is still light in early evening). This is true throughout the northeast. As a child in Maine I would start the school-year wearing a jacket in the cool morning, but I remember how hot the classroom could be (no AC then) and that I’d usually end up wearing my jacket tied around my waist on the way home. It is no different here in Waghkonk as we watch the turning of the Great Cycle of the Seasons - even as we see the fullness and thickness of their leaves right now, more and more of the tips of the leaves of the hardwood trees (Beech, Birch, Black Cherry, Black Walnut, Elm, Hickory, Maple, Oak, Sycamore, etc.) are turning that seminal color - yellow - which signifies the very beginnings of fall (unfortunately, our Ashes are either dead or dying from the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and will not be contributing their bright yellow anymore and most of the Maples still are a discolored brown from Maple rust); the Thistles are mostly done shedding their thistledown, with the Milkweeds soon to follow (if you want to help spread the magical, parachute-like Milkweed silk, please wait ‘til the pods are opening on their own and little silks are starting to pop out) and our meadows and fields are dominated now by the beautiful, bright Goldenrods - all contributing to the goldenness of this season. If you have fall allergies, remember that Goldenrods are not an allergen - they rely on insects to pollinate them, not the wind. The real culprit in this is Ragweed, which is pollinated by wind, but it goes unnoticed in its more subtle dark brown. Most flowers having passed already, Goldenrods play an important role in early Fall by providing nectar for many insects as they migrate. Usually by the end of September neither the days nor the nights will be warm and at the Fall Equinox (9/22) it will be very (frighteningly?) obvious that our daylight is rapidly fading. You know - “maybe winter really is coming!”.

THE CORN MOON - Slowly, but inexorably, the seasons cycle through, as illustrated by the changing names of the moons, which all show seasonal change. September is variously known as: the Hunting Moon (Lenape); Nut Moon (Eastern Band of the Cherokee); Falling Leaf Moon (Mahican); and widely as the Corn Moon, because it is the time for harvesting corn.

AUTUMNAL FAUNA - As the light gradually changes, Fall is gently, subtly triggered, different animals responding in different ways. Some creatures like Black Bear and Woodchucks start to plan for a long winter's nap by fattening up a bit (though the 'Chucks seem plenty fat already). Acorns, Beechnuts and Hickory-nuts (collectively called Mast by biologists) all play an outsized role in helping bear and White-tail Deer gain their winter-weight. Every now and then the nut-trees (it seems particularly the Oaks) will produce incredibly prodigious amounts of nuts (called a Mast Year). This doesn’t occur on a regular basis. The trees figured out that if they did so, there would be other creatures who would time their seasons accordingly, so they avoid this by timing mast years randomly - 2, 3 or 5 years between cycles, sometimes even 10 - a true example of the Brilliance of Trees in my mind. The bear are in their glory during a Mast Year, when the forest floor is coated with acorns and walking there is like walking on marbles. I’ve seen bear happily, ecstatically scooping up acorns by the paw-full when this happens. Another adaptation is migration. The incredible Hummingbirds will be doing it shortly, actually gaining a whole gram or so of weight to fuel that powerful little furnace of theirs to help start them on their long flight down the Appalachians, then an intrepid 500-mile non-stop dash across the Gulf of Mexico to their wintering grounds in the Yucatán. The fourth- and final generation of Monarchs are preparing to leave on their own long journey to sunnier climes. I know they're threatened both at home and here, but since there were a few more this year (monarchwatch.org noted a 60% increase in the Monarch overwintering population this past winter - yay!), I'd love to think their population will bounce back (visit www.journeynorth.org for more on all migrators and www.spiritofbutterflies.com for more on Monarchs and local efforts to help them). Many of the Dragonflies have gone already, leaving their eggs in freshwater to hatch as larvae next year. Now mainly the huge (for dragonflies) and indomitable Green Darners still zip around, hawking hapless small insects (and some not so small) from midair. Still here at the moment are the intrepid and prehistorically evocative Great Blue Herons (some will probably stay for a bit, even into winter). Local Bald Eagles are still feeding on fish in local ponds and reservoirs. Our Black- and Turkey Vulture friends will stick around to haunt us at least through the fall (and do their bit as part of the roadside Cleanup Crew, along with Crows and Ravens). They all have fledglings in various states of growth and maturity.

FALL (AUTUMNAL) EQUINOX - Tuesday, September 22 at 8:04 pm EDT - The Great Wheel of the Seasons turns as the Cycle of Life inexorably continues. We humans have our own rhythms in the matter. Most of us will hunker down, get out the warm clothing, beef up the wood-pile, tighten up the windows, etc., and some will migrate to warmer climes. I like to point this out to show that despite all of our technology, we still respond - whether we know it or not - to the rhythms of the natural world around us. A glorious Fall is upon us in the southeast Catskills. Let’s make the most of it - “make hay while the sun shines”. Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. Have an enjoyable and Safe Fall (?).

Take Care, “Ranger” Dave Holden / (845)594-4863 / woodstocktrails@gmail.com / Dave Holden on Facebook / rangerdaveholden on Instagram / www.woodstocknytrails.com