I put on sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt this morning........

It's not so hot and muggy 5-6am, but that could change any day. It's a sign though that cooler times are on the way.

The Black Gum trees have started turning red. They are about the first noticeable trees in the Fall. Fall pollen has started.

The high tide in the rivers surrounding the island have been unusually high the last few days. That's a sign that the Fall Marsh Hen Hunting season is about to start. Next month at the Full Moon, we should have the highest tides of the year. About 11.5 ft. Now if you hear of a hurricane coming my way about the time of the high tide, don't expect me to post 'cause I won't be here! 11.5 comes up to the edge of the causeways to the island. Two or more feet from a storm driven tide will swamp the road leading to the mainland and I ain't that stupid!!!

The New England asters are showing color, hopefully the monarch butterflys will soon be here on their annual migration. Chinese cabbages are lengthening, grapes aren't quite ready. Hope frost holds off a little while longer. Spinach is just breaking the surface, will be ready next very early spring. Virginia creeper showing a little pink and red. Ordered a cord and a half of firewood for next week. Yes, fall is definitly in the air.

LOL, Now I'm going to spoil the mood, since our highs are still in the low nineties & the kind of weather you guys are talking about won't be here until November. Still, the Friday Night Lights are burning brightly every week & the days are shorter & the mornings nice & cool. If it would rain, life would be perfect, but saying good-bye to the 100-degree heat is a sign around here that the seasons are changing.

A sure sign for me--the first yellow on the goldenrods yesterday. I always hate seeing that because I am a diehard summer fan. No winter would be perfect.

I am with Andie - it isn't gonna rain for some time, but the poison oak is turning bright red and looks beautiful - the fruit trees are turning and shedding. I cover my tomatoes at night, the nights are cool, but a temp of 100º is predicted for the next few days.
I was tempted to turn the furnace on this morning - it was really chilly, but later the cooler did it's job.
The mornings are longer, though, and so the heat doesn't last as long - now we just have to live in the dustbowl for a few more weeks

A very slight bit cooler here...below 90's...and cools down at night so that AC is cycling off and on again rather than running 24/7. I'm cooking more and that's a sure sign of fall. Last brood of Cardinals out of nest though still being fed by parents. I've left Pokesalad standing around and can't wait til Mockingbirds and Robins start their acrobatics for the berries. No leaves turning yet...josh

1st snow on the mountains this weekend. down in our valley the cottonwoods have some yellow & the amur maple is showing reds/burgundy, ditto the mint. was 39º this morn so covered just about everything tonite...frost isn't too far off.

NO!!! I can't see it!!! No no no no no no no no!!!!!! LaLaLa - can't see any. There are no signs. Summer is still here. Pitch dark and quite cool at 5am is NOT a sign of fall. No matter how light it was 2 months ago. Sigh....

I've noticed a few signs:

• The leaves at the very top of my Maple tree are tipped in red.

• I still see several hummingbirds an hour... but for the past week, they've all been girls.

• My allergies have become insane.

• There seems to be an upsurge in bird activity in my yard.

• It's been rainy the last several days, and chilly enough that I've needed a jacket. (Rainy and in the 60's --- Brrr!)

• My Autumn Joy sedum are blushing.

• My hydrangea are getting those spots on their leaves I only see towards the end of the season.

• The pansies I planted are thriving.

• The corn is turning brown.

• That stupid black eyed Susan that volunteers itself all over my yard is finally petering out.

• The squirrels are burying stuff all over my lawn.

• Izzy's body language when she quarters in the field is changing.

• Our dogs have more endurance on their daily walk/romp (both wilt in the sun and thrive in the cold).

• Our AC has been off for over a week, and my husband has neither noticed nor complained.

• I bought bulbs (even though I won't plant them for a while).

• My established asters and mums have either set bud or opened.

• The foliage on my bleeding hearts finally yellowed completely and I cut it back to the ground.

• The berries on the bush on the side of our house have turned blue.

• Apples are ripe.

• I've seen mature pumpkins in some of my neighbors' gardens.

• The geese have begun flocking.

  ...but my dang tomatoes haven't slowed down one bit!

  We got spoiled rotten with the weather this summer... and the last two winters have been pretty mild... I wouldn't be at all surprised if this winter is a doozy... we're due. I find I'm having a really hard time accepting the imminence of autumn and winter this year.

The geese have returned to winter quarters here on the various wildflife perserves on the river. They scavenge in farmer's fields for any food that is left from the harvest. Each day, more of the fields I see on the way to and from to work are being stripped of their covering crops; corn, cotton, soy bean, and such that is the local produce. You can see the geese flying in V formation on their daily trips from the river to where they feed and back again in the evening. Of course they honk. The first fall cold front has come through and today's high will only in 71°. The cold front has brought rain, and gray skies, the kind of skies that hint of winter. But not to worry, the forcast for the coming days will be sunshine, low humidity, and temps in the low 80's. Giant bails of cotton are appearing on sides of roads. Pumpkins have started turning up at the farmers market. So have the 'mums. Square bails of hay are also being offered, for yard decorations. $5 per bail, leave the money in the bucket.

Elia

Me too, Jazz. I saw my first flock of geese two days ago. The goldfinches are going nutcakes at the seed heads and I hear them in the trees constantly and all over the place. I went to another nursery this morning to pass some time until a market opened, and they were in their trees as well! I used to work at that nursery and don't ever remember seeing/hearing goldfinches like that there.

How is your canning going? Didja take the plunge and go for it? Mine has turned from fun into obligation at this point. Coming on faster than I can get to it. I'll tell you what. Canning jars have just gone out of sight in price. I have found estate sales (older people of every social status used to can), garage sales and the charity shops like Good will are a great place to build up your supply. Folks used to laugh at me, because I must have at least five hundred canning jars in bins in the cellar. But, in a good year, I have at least four hundred jars upstairs filled. Somebody asked me what I was going to do with over a hundred jars of jelly once. Well, we go through at least a jar a week, that's fifty to sixty some a year. I give them as gifts, and also supply my mother's pantry. When you can, you think a year's supply at one time then go for it.

Well,a few days ago I would have said no,but yes,it's starting to feel like Autumn. We used to use the Canada geese as a barometer but they just stick around all year now. The temps have started going down into the 50s at night which makes a big difference in the plants and the way they look. The crickets have stopped and no more locusts...sigh. I love locusts buzzing in steamy heat.

It's happening!!! We keep the air conditioning on about 76-78 degrees depending on the humidity. When I went to get the paper early this morning, it was cooler outside than it was in the house. NICE!!!

The change of seasons around here are similar to a kid getting into the surf. Stick a toe in and run back to the sand a few times, then maybe get in above the ankles before running back; he doesn't get wet unless a big wave sneaks up and douses him. We are never sure if the season really has changed until we get doused with a heat-wave -or blizzard, depending on the time of year.

This week's temps are high 70 and low 60, but the forecasters are saying we will have mid- to upper-80's in a few days. The nice part is that we are finally having rain; Ernesto gently dropped about 5 inches, and now Florence may influence the clouds into precipitating another inch or two. So nice after all the dry months. Trees have been dropping their leaves for the past month, literally withering to death. True autumn doesn't usually drop leaves until mid-November; the day after T-day is the first big leaf raking. The geese can't decide either, big V's fly south in the evening, only to reappear next morning flying north. The Purple Dome asters are glowing their color here and there, but the green beans are blooming and producing as though it were July. I'm not sure, but I don't think autumn is in the neighborhood, yet.

I'm not really sure just yet what autum signs are here. Since I'm in a new area, there will be some different signs. It was comforting though, to have consistancies but I'm curious about the new.
Since I don't have anything planted yet, I'm taking notice of what the native trees and shrubs are doing. Although I have more of a variety of birds in my yard, I am near water and I'm trying to take notice of how the shore birds behave. In order to exit my developement, I pass a pond that is inhabited with a few varieties of geese, ducks, swallows, cranes and herons.( I LOVE swallows!)

Spiders like to be showy during this month and next month and that's no different here.
I did have a summer insect that I wasn't too fond of. An exterminator buddy told me it was a kind of june bug. I always thought june bugs were round, amber and kinda cute. The insect I'm speaking of is amber in color, seeked out the hue of the porch light and looked just like a cockroach. Only it could fly....yuck. My buddy also told me, they will leave a nasty bite. Well, it was either a spider or that evil cockroach looking junebug that left it's mark on me. All I knew was that one of my digits, stung, ached, itched and turned black. It went away after a few days but honestly, it kind of freaked me out.

When clear, the moons shine on the ocean and I'm looking forward to seeing the Harvest Moon in all it's brightness. How much colder with fall feel with the ocean breeze?

Besides nature, I'll be checking out my town with the absence of the 300K to 400K summer extras. What businesses will shut down and when? When will the fishermen and crabmen be down to a skeleton crew and trips?

For right now though, I have ten years worth of leaves to get up before the new ones fall soon. I bought 500 bulbs,lol. I better start digging. Suzy, I have never forgotten what you said one year about bulbs. I recall something about..."even if you have to take a pick-ax to the ground, you have all the time in the world until President's Day". Since I'm so close to the coast and the odds of the ground ever freezing are nil, can I push it to St. Paddy's day? Tee hee
~di

Di - yes, in OC you can plant bulbs on St Paddy's, but they will bloom later than expected and not be as strong for the next year. I've done it (blush). The problem is that you have use those which have been kept refrigerated, otherwise they haven't gotten their proper dormancy.