We have an extra day of summer this year - the Equinox is at 9:54pm on Saturday September 22nd. It can occur any time between September 21 and 24. The full moon is September is called the Harvest Moon because of the tradition of farmers bringing in the harvest around this time.
Equinox Facts from Reader's Digest:
"There’s a long-standing tale that you can stand eggs up on end during the first day of fall because of the unusual gravitational pull the sun exerts that day. According to the Miami Herald, brooms can be balanced on this special day as well. And, in fact, it is possible to balance eggs (and brooms) on the first day of fall, or on any other day of the year—an astronomer named Frank Ghigo tested it and published a paper in 1987 explaining that certain eggs balance more easily than others".
"Once the Bastille had been stormed and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was passed, French revolutionaries tried to make some radical changes to the day-to-day workings of society—they wanted more rational systems that did not depend on Christian traditions. They implemented the metric system, using decimals to break down kilograms and meters (replacing the non-standard measurement systems that made trade inefficient), and in 1793 they started using the French Republican Calendar, which broke down each of the 12 months into three 10-day weeks. They back-dated the beginning of the year to September 22, 1792, the day after France had been declared a republic—that first year was meant to be “year one” of the new era. Napoleon took the country back to the Gregorian calendar in 1806."
A look at the Mackinac Bridge today - doesn't that look like Autumn weather to you?
"Perfumes are the feelings of flowers." - Heinrich Heine
September is when my garden is filled with Sweet Autumn Clematis - little white stars climbing up trees and bushes. It is a haven for pollinators so there is a buzz of sound. The scent is sweet and citrusy and is everywhere. It reminds one of May and the scent of apple blossoms and hyacinths. And then we see a red leaf and know this is the finale
I saw red leaves yesterday climbing up poles and tree trunks. I am curious whether they are poison ivy or virginnia creeper. My own garden vriginnia creeper is not turning red yet. So it might be the abundant poison ivy of Niagara that is the first to turn colour. How to know which it is? The expression to remember is: Leaves of three? Let them be! I didn't stop to check, but kept thinking of the expression.
There are more rhyming expressions to help with the identification of poison ivy:
"Longer middle stem; stay away from them." -- the middle leaflet has a long stem while the two side leaflets attach almost directly.
"Ragged rope, don't be a dope!" Poison ivy vines on trees have a furry, "raggy" or ragged appearance.
"Berries white, run in fright" and "Berries white, danger in sight."
"Red leaflets in the spring, it's a dangerous thing." -- new leaflets sometimes are red in the spring. Later, in the summer, the leaflets are green -- while in autumn they can be reddish-orange.
"Side leaflets like mittens, will itch like the dickens." This refers to the shape of some poison ivy leaves, where each of the two side leaflets has a notch that makes the leaflet look like a mitten with a "thumb." (Caution:all parts of the plant can cause itching, not just these leaves.)
The latest iPhone was announced - at a notable price. My own iPhone came in handy on the trip. It was used for these panorama pictures - the iPhone does it all. Here are two from the Denver Botanical Garden. This Victorian conservatory had bird cages hanging inside, each with airplanes in each.
