Monday, September 11, 2017

Harvest time on the land


It was an unusual winter, spring, and summer with tornadoes in February and torrential flooding rains for 5 months. Only in August did we see clear skies - a time when we are usually begging for rain after the summer drought. The grass and fields tend to be brown and withering, but only now is the grass starting to yellow.

The heat seemed to be drained from summer by the end of the first week of August. It was cool and delicious weather; the kind of respite we look forward to in September.

But September is here and still cool and lovely. The trees are already turning and shedding their leaves. The acorns are budding and growing.

These young acorns fell from the bur-oak tree in our front yard. The bur-oak is the only tree native to the old prairie. All other oaks, maples, cottonwoods, etc. are considered weeds and were introduced as pioneers settled the area.

Will we get an Indian summer? I don't know and I hope not. I'm not one for heat. Give me jacket weather any day. 

Another sign that the holiday season is coming are the spiders. Their webs surround the house - not in a totally creepy way - but still, I am constantly running into them or almost. My husband is more of an arachnophobe than I am; the shocked screams have not all been mine.



And who are they eating? We've seen crickets, flies, and moths caught in their webs. But I wonder if the cicadas are too big for them? Here's a cicada skin cracked open and left on one of the porch columns. It's been there for weeks.  

I, Queen of my 3/4 acres, proclaim that autumn is here! And it's getting nice and spooky around here!

 

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