signs of fall

tiger swallow-tail on wild bergamot (Monarda spp.)

     ho-man but its hot out there...........hurtfully hot.............but have you noticed the lack of oppressive tropical humidity, which relented around yesterday (22 aug) evening sometime? here at home we could tell by 1) the absence of condensation on our exterior windows (which, lately, has been running in rivulets down the windows on to the walls), and 2) our evening glass of wine went down SO much better...........the local cicadas took note of it as well, joyfully chorusing for a good 30 minutes around sundown..............over the past month or so, they've been nearly silent -- mustering up energy to sing for, at most, about 5-10 seconds each evening; and blowing off the morning chorus altogether........................... 

     the last time i remember a humidity level this low was last may.................................

     yes, a lil' cool front actually made it through yesterday, denting that big balloon-of-tropical-high-pressure, actually (temporarily) bulldozing it southward into the gulf........... not that we've noticed any temperature difference; but definitely a respite in humidity...........and yes, of course, it'll be back shortly; but, hey, sure feels nice to have it off our backs for a spell..................................AND.........it reminds us that yes, there is a such thing as "fall," and that yes, it's indeed a-comin' at some point in time..............

     the local plant and animal life has been hinting at just such a scenario for a couple of weeks now.......in place of the racous hollers of breeding cardinals and wrens each morning, we now hear the quiet "chips" and "peets" of fall-migrating flycatchers, gnatcatchers, and warblers as they course southward through the woods  here in northeastern lafayette parish............3-4 evenings ago, we had a migrating waterthrush (a type of streamside-dwelling warbler....) stop over at our main birdbath, circling round & round the perimeter and pecking at tiny food items in there.......waterthrushes habitually dip their short tails as they walk, making for a fine lil' birdbath ballet..................

     fall wildflowers have also begun blooming............and much to the delight of the birds, lizards, skinks, frogs, etc., the local insect/arachnid population has mushroomed, as it usually does down around these parts at the end of each summer................late-summer/early-fall is peak butterfly time here, and lately we've been seeing tons of 'em:  tiger swallow-tail, spicebush swallow-tail, hackberry, buckeye, sleepy-orange, and sulphur; the latter being the real sign of the changing of seasons........not many butterflies are migratory; but sulphurs (and monarchs, of course) are.............sulphurs arrive at this latitude each august, and a few even linger with us through winter, particularly around locales near water......................

     our local ruby-throated hummingbird population has definitely swelled with migrants from points north......each day from dawn to dusk it's a dogfight out there....lydia's got 4 nectar feeders going, and the garden's presently got lots of turk's cap and salvias blooming for them and the butterflies.................................

     our hopes for fall were further bouyed by yesterday evening's weather forecast: 3 more days in the mid-to-upper 90s, followed by 10 straight days (at least....) in the lower 90s/upper 80s(!)...........this morning, our friend chris hinchliffe -- freshly moved in from new hampshire (e.g. this is his first summer down here) -- remarked, "who would've ever thought that a low-90s forecast would be good news!" 

     lache pas, ya'll...................................................................................................