Outside My Window

Very soon all the trees will be bare in my neighborhood.  This is already the case north of Pittsburgh.

A week ago I visited the Clarion River in Jefferson County where I noticed all the trees were bare, even the oaks.  At the Allegheny Front last Sunday the leaves on the mountain had fallen but in the valley the oaks were russet, the tulip trees golden.  In the valley it was the final show and by now it’s probably over.

But the show isn’t over yet if there are non-native trees in your area.  Non-natives from northern locations are out of sync with our photo period so most of them still have leaves, some are still green. 

For instance, our native maples lost their leaves two weeks ago but Norway maples still retain yellow and even green leaves.  They’re responding to the amount of light they expect in Norway in October, which is about 10 hours per day.  Our days aren’t that short until early November so these non-natives still have leaves.  They’re on Norway time.

Eventually even the non-natives will catch up.  How will I know when all the leaves are gone?  When I don’t have to rake anymore.

(photo by Marcy Cunkelman)

This morning the fog rose from the river and blanketed my neighborhood in frost. 

Above the fog the sky is clear, the sun shining.  Both fog and frost will be gone soon.

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

Golden sunlight on yellow leaves at North Park.  Enjoy them now.  They’re falling fast.

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

Winter is coming.  Orion the Hunter is back. 

Hidden all summer, the Orion constellation is visible again in our southern sky.  I first noticed him last week, just before dawn. 

You can pick out his features in the photo at left.  The line of three stars in the middle is his belt, the vertical line below that is his dagger and the four stars at the four corners mark his shoulders and knees. The unusual red star at his top left shoulder is Betelgeuse.  Click here to see how the Ancient Greeks made this pattern into a hunter.

Orion lies on the celestial equator so he’s visible in each hemisphere in winter. He’s one of my favorite constellations but truth be told he’s one of the few I can see.  My neighborhood is bad for star gazing due to city lights and Pittsburgh’s frequent cloud cover.  If the Ancient Greeks had seen as few stars as I do, they wouldn’t have named so many constellations.

Right now Orion is in the south but by January he’ll be at his best.  Meanwhile he has a special claim to fame this month.  On October 21 the Orionid meteor shower will flash in the space between Orion and Gemini, above and left of Betelgeuse.

So keep looking up.  Even at night there’s always something to see.

(photo linked from University of Arizona Astronomy Department.  Click on the photo to see it in its original context)

Today Chuck Tague reminded me it’s time for an October phenology.  Yikes!  I wrote September’s “What to Look For” only three days ago and included some early October predictions.  Is there any more to say?

I read Chuck’s list and right off the bat his is better than mine.  Did you know that October is a good month to find Wooly Bear caterpillars?  Did you know the Wooly Bear is the larva of the Isabella Tiger Moth?  I didn’t.

So rather than bore you with my own paltry list I urge you to read Chuck’s at Asters, Wooly Bears and Sweaters: A phenological perspective for October.

p.s.  News!  Three (or more) of Chuck Tague’s bird photos will be part of the OnQ show I blogged about yesterday.  Watch for his scarlet tanager, indigo bunting and mourning dove in the Birding for Everyone segment on Monday, October 5 at 7:30pm on WQED.

(Wooly Bear composite photo by Chuck Tague)

My gosh, I’m late!  I forgot all about writing a phenology for September and now the month is nearly gone! 

To make up for this omission, here’s a backward glance at what we missed in September and a look ahead into October.  At this time of year we can expect to see:

• The nighthawks left by early September.  Chimney swifts are gone by early October.
• Warblers and thrushes pass through in September.  Look for duck migration in October.
• Watch for an increase in the number of crows and starlings.
• The most numerous species at hawk watches changes from broad-winged hawks in September to sharp-shins and red-tails in October.
• Asters and goldenrod are still in bloom.  I have asters in my back yard that don’t fully bloom until October 1.  Here they are – and it’s almost October.
• “Hitch hiker” seeds are everywhere.  Burdock, beggar tickseed and tick trefoil grab onto pants and socks.
• In September, even before the trees and shrubs begin to change color, they lose some leaves and the canopy thins out. 
• Watch for maximum fall color around Columbus Day. 

Unlike me, Chuck Tague has kept up with the season.  Read his early and late September phenologies and the almanacs on his blog. 

(photo of Asters in my backyard.  Blurry, but you get the idea.)

Here’s a flower that I look for in September at Moraine State Park.  Closed or Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) likes to grow in damp soil so I risk getting my feet wet when I look for it.  It’s always a pleasant surprise to find it.

The petals of Bottle Gentians never open but a bumblebee can force its way into the flower at the top.  In fact, bumblebees are just about the only insect who wants to – and can – collect the nectar. 

It seems to me this is a lot of trouble to go to for each flower.  It must be worth it.

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

Here’s a flower that blooms in Pennsylvania – and in Acadia National Park in September.  

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritaceae) probably got its “everlasting” name because it dries well for use in winter flower arrangements.  It’s a member of the Aster family.

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

Early September is a quiet spell of lengthening shadows and shorter days.  Birds and animals, insects and plants are packing up and getting ready for winter.  Even we humans are starting to take the hint.  Here’s what to expect outdoors in western Pennsylvania in the coming weeks: 

• The days are getting shorter.  By September 23rd, day will equal night.
• Flowers will put on one last extravaganza, especially the goldenrods and asters.  Look for late blooming turtleheads.
• Watch the trees begin to change color.  Even now the hackberries are starting to turn yellow.
• Woodchucks and squirrels will focus on food – for sure!
• All our monarch butterflies are migrating.  They flutter and set their wings for a long glide.  Marcy Cunkelman tells me they can cover 50 miles a day.
• Birds are migrating too:  warblers, hummingbirds, thrushes, broad-winged hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, kestrels, swallows and swifts!

Chuck Tague’s phenology for early September has even more information.

(photo of Turtleheads by Tim Vechter)

Jewelweed flowers (Impatiens capensis) offer inviting landing pads for bumblebees.  The “jewel” in the name comes from the way water beads up on the leaves and sparkles like diamonds in the sun. 

This plant is also called Spotted Touch-me-not because the flowers are spotted and the ripe seed pods explode when you touch them as if to say ”Touch Me Not.”

The explosions are so cool that I am tempted to touch the plant even more.  I make it a contest and try to beat the seeds at their own game.  Whenever I find Jewelweed I look for the fattest seed pods and give each one a squeeze to see if I can capture the seeds before they leap from my finger tips.  I always lose unless I cup my hand around the pod.

(photo by Dianne Machesney)