Hints of Fall

The calendar may say its early September but Mother Nature is suggesting otherwise. In the last few weeks I've noticed that the choke cherries have ripened, the scrub oak acorns are drying and the leaves are starting to turn color. This week the daytime temperatures are predicted to be in the mid-sixties and the nighttime temps in the mid-forties. By weeks end the precipitation will change to snow above 12,000 feet elevation and as much as eight inches may accumulate.

All these hints of fall have motivated us to finish up our firewood preparation and clean the woodstove. We have one pile of about two cords sitting ready and are working on the second pile which will be in our woodshed.

The change of seasons is not lost on the wildlife either. After several years without an acorn crop, this year’s crop is excellent and everything from Stellar jays to black bears are feasting. We have had three to four different bears visiting the oak clumps on our place and surrounding properties leaving footprints in the mud and scat piles full of acorn hulls.

It won’t be long before the aspen, cottonwood, birch and alder are ablaze in yellow from tree line down to the valley floor. And then suddenly winter will arrive.

From FleurCreek Farm