Autumn Begins...

I must remember to say good bye to summer.........

Autumn (Fall Equinox) begins

 September 22, 2012 at 10:49 A.M.   EDT

..sadly..

A New Season Begins

~HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER~

SUMMER  OFFICIALLY BEGINS TODAY

AT 1:16 P.M.

It's Spring!

~~HAPPY SPRING~~

~CELEBRATE THE SEASON~

Thundershowers around today.......take an umbrella.

Colors Of Autumn May Be Dull And Drab

The warm days and cool nights of fall transform homogeneous carpets of green leaves into brilliant yellows, oranges and reds in many parts of the country, thrilling local residents and providing a booming tourist industry.

This year, however, the unusually hot and dry summer may put a damper on those colors in some areas, especially in the Mid-Atlantic region, southern New England and the South.

A number of factors that directly contribute to how spectacular -- or how mediocre -- a season might be, include current weather and the weather of previous months. The best type of weather during fall, when the leaves are in the process of changing, includes sunny, warm days and clear, cool nights with little wind. The worst type of weather includes little sunshine and mild nights, along with the obvious: wind and rain that will quickly strip trees of their leaves.

Even the best fall weather conditions, though, will only result in spectacular fall displays if the trees have been exposed to proper weather conditions during the preceding summer. Trees that have been stressed by outside influence, such as extreme heat or drought, will often quickly shut down in the fall, with leaves falling early after turning brown or only displaying only muted colors for a brief time.

Immature and diseased trees, as well as certain types of trees, are more susceptible to stress than others, so predicting how large stands will react to potential stress is an imperfect science.

Trees in large portions of the East and South, though, have been exposed to extreme heat and developing drought in recent months, so spectacular displays of vibrant foliage are unlikely.

This summer (June through August) was the hottest on record from the Deep South through the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic region to parts of southern New England, and every state in the entire eastern half of the country recorded one of its top 16 hottest summers.

Trees exposed to extreme heat might not be overly stressed if they had enough rain to compensate, but the heat was combined with a growing drought for many areas. Drought conditions, in some instances severe or extreme, extend from southern New England through the Mid-Atlantic region and into the Deep South.

While there will be pockets of trees in these regions that are less stressed because of local effects, such as more resistant trees, locally higher rain amounts or slightly cooler temperatures, it's likely that the season overall will not be spectacular.

Locations with typical early peaks in color include the higher elevations of New York State to West Virginia, where the best color is seen in late September and early October. Leaves are typically at their most colorful in the middle of October in the rest of the Mid-Atlantic region and Appalachian mountains, with peak color not likely until late October or even early November in the South.
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Regardless Of How It Feels Summer Is Almost Here

Summer begins today at 7:28 A. M.

The Last of the Summer Days

I'm sure alot of you woke up to the morning the same way I did...........with your extra hour of sleep! Big deal, right!? My husband assured me that instead of it being 11:00 a.m. as the bedroom clock said, it was only 10:00.

Well, that's fine, I guess, if you like the extra hour sleeping but I had rather have that extra hour left in my day. I like the extra hour of daylight even if I choose to do nothing outside. Beach days are gone, gardening days have dwindled to the few fall chores. If you do it outside now there's no time to even change your mind.

Looking back on the summer I remembered all those hot, sunny, humid days we had. I like those brightly lit summer days and I even enjoy the humidity! I'm going to miss the sound of thunder in a distance and the soft breeze. I'm going to miss my abundance of blue birds, humming birds and finches. And I am even going to miss (somewhat) the sound and the bites of the mosquitoes and sleeping with the windows wide open.
I am a sunlight person. I like the sunny days, even if they are just warm. It's the long dreary days and nights that get to me. And I suppose that maybe there will be a few more warm sunny evenings to light the wok and sit on the patio watching the sun set. Our "world" is in the autumn mode now. It's time to rake leaves, mulch flower beds and take one long glimpse of the colorful sketches that Nature gives us this time of year.
I'll do all that while at the same time missing the summer.