Name: Toni Denver Metro (Zone 5a) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
*sigh*
I knew that this was going to be a short year, but I am not ready! No!! Sure, I'm tired of the 95+deg days, but I'm not ready for winter. But I guess the birds are.
Winter's ETA: Mid September. Beh.
For those who are confused, that's a flock of Canadian geese in V formation circling & honking, getting ready to head south. Click on each image to see it a little better.
Name: Mary The dry side of Oregon Be yourself, you can be no one else
They might be just doing what they normally do when their young begin to fly. This morning I saw a family group, with youngsters cavorting in flight. They landed on our irrigation pond, it took 2 tries for about half of them as they are still rather new at this flying/landing thing! In the past I've seen big groups flying a lot in mid to late summer, early fall, strenthening the wings of the youngsters for the eventual big trip. I'd see them going south, then north, then south, then north and finally it dawned on me that this was normal behavior. Yours might not be doing anything they don't usually do. Maybe you are noticing it more because of the drought. Or maybe you are right. Watch and see.
Name: Toni Denver Metro (Zone 5a) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
Mary - Been watching the young growing up here at work (Denver's a mecca for the stupid geese.. really don't like them at all). This isn't strengthening flights, this is definitely a V-pattern. Everything's 3-4 weeks early this year. Winter's gonna be knocking soon. Which means, I hope beyond hope, lots of snow. We need it desperately.
The forecast for our area is a long long summer. I watched a report yesterday that said the heat and drought will persist until late fall. My trees are dropping leaves. Last winter was so warm, many trees never went dormant. The lack of rest gave them no reserves to fight the heat this summer. On top of that, lightning hit one of my largest cottonwoods. That's 2 trees hit in the last year!
We have a whole-house surge protector, and so far, the house has been fine.
It's strange, but we get quite a few dry storms--just lightning and thunder, no rain.
Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
My garden is not ready for winter. With good monsoon rains things have perked up and are in a second growth-spurt. It will be the first year this garden has had one of those. I'm hoping that we won't get frost here until the end of October so that the perennials, trees, and shrubs planted this year can put on some size and really establish well.
What fun is lightening without rain? We go for long stretches of the year without moisture here, but thankfully, when we get thunderstorms it usually rains. Our house is tucked into a bit of a valley, with each of our neighbors' properties higher in elevation, so we don't get many direct hits. Fortunately for us this year we have recently gotten enough rain that the severe danger of forest fire has been reduced; the ban on outdoor fires has been lifted.
When you dance with nature, try not to step on her toes.
