Early Fall

We've gone 2 1/2 weeks without rain here in my little corner of Connecticut. Ok, we had a sprinkle Saturday night, but it was just a trace. The local airport said about 1/16th of an inch. That seems a bit on the high side. The rain didn't even penetrate the mesh chairs on my deck let alone the massive trees overshadowing most of my yard.

We're down over 7 inches year-to-date, which is 20% less than what we should have. While those numbers pale in comparison to other parts of the country, it still puts a strain on the vegetation. Fortunately, it hasn't been too hot. Overall, it's been pretty average temperature wise this summer, which is a good thing.

This sweet birch on the side of my yard (bad photo, sorry) took the dry spell rather hard. This species likes moist soils, hence why it lives in the northeastern US. I think that it's about 40 feet tall, so it's a mature tree. About a month ago, it's leaves started changing. They summarily fell, as you can see here. I'm hoping that it's just taking an early nap for the Winter and will be back next Spring. If not, well, I've got more firewood for the following Winter.

An Andromeda, another moist soil plant, that I had nurtured back from near death several years ago has taken a big hit. It has several yellow leaves and most of the green ones were droopy. This is an evergreen so these symptoms are troubling.

But these trees aren't alone. Several varieties of trees in the area, mostly maples and birches, are changing colors. Yellow is becoming a popular color in the arboreal landscape with faded green right there with it. The problem is, it's too soon. These guys shouldn't be starting to change for another couple of weeks yet. Even my massive red maples are turning at their tops.

Since trees transpire through their leaves, this early Fall shouldn't come as a surprise. The trees are just cutting their losses.

And I shouldn't be surprised either. Back in January, I was worried about the lack of snowfall and its implications. Sadly, I seem to be right. While I downplayed any concern about pests becoming more aggressive, that seems to have been a mistake. I read in the paper over the weekend that pine beetles have been having their way with Michigan's forests. Right here at home, my cats are suffering from fleas for the very first time.

But if there's a silver lining to this cloud, it's my decreased use of gasoline. I didn't mow the lawn in July and only twice in August. The shade from the trees has helped keep most of the grass from burning out.

The dry weather also provided favorable conditions for house painting and repairs to the exterior (Great work, Chris!).

Rain is in the forecast for this week. Tomorrow, in fact. It was frustrating Saturday night watching the rain move west, then north, of us. And today, small cells dissipated just before they hit the state line. The ground is so dry that it's become hard. Water runs right off of it. We'll need a steady soaker, not a downpour, to have a positive effect.

My wife told me that the Farmer's Almanac is predicting a snowy winter for the northeast. I hope they're right.

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DED