Phenology
On our kitchen wall we keep a phenology calendar.
In the springtime we pay attention to what is appearing: When did we see the first migratory birds? When did the daffodils bloom?
In the autumn we watch what is leaving: When did the hummingbirds last come to the garden? When did the last monarch fly through on its way south? When did the dragonflies stop flying?
Today I harvested what are probably the last beans from our garden. There are a few tomatoes down low, close to the ground where frost has not bitten them. The cucumbers are all done, and one orange pumpkin hangs from the cattle panel I used as a trellis.
Before lunch I went for a run at the state park. (Thursday is my writing-and-grading day this semester, and sometimes I also add an extra workout.) There, at Good Earth, I saw a garter snake. Surprising to see one so late in the season! But along those wooded riverine trails there are hibernacula for the red-bellied snakes, and I imagine that the garter snakes and fox snakes (saw my first western fox snake this year on May 4th, according to the calendar in the kitchen) go there, too, to huddle and cuddle their way through the long winter.
A few comma butterflies (nymphalidae) warmed themselves on the sunny gravel paths, where they probably also sipped salt from the stones.
A wooly bear caterpillar shuffled its slow way across the path.
Thousands of grasshoppers leapt up as we ran by.
And the golden, brown, red, and purple leaves made soft sounds as they let go of their summer perch and drifted to the ground.
