September in Vermont

Below are excerpts from Ellen’s journal. She has kept her Walden Hill Journal going since we moved from Illinois. We hope you enjoy reading them for a vicarious experience of Vermont.

Sept. 1, 2005 After four dreary days of constant rain, we’re seeing a most welcomed sun. People on the street today were smiling and friendly, the only complaints being the rapidly rising price of gas. We topped off the tank for our trip to Quebec with our first U.S. gas of over $3 a gallon, $3.11 to be exact. Hurricane Katrina has temporarily put the U.S. refineries in the gulf out of commission. To put things in proper perspective though, high-priced gas is a small inconvenience compared to the problems of no electricity, water and housing as well as looting, rape and other crimes being out of control in New Orleans. The massive problems of cleanup, delivering food, finding shelter, opening bridges and ports, dealing with sanitation, removing the dead and helping the injured is too large to comprehend.

Sept. 7, 2005 September is definitely smiling down on us with day after continuous day of perfect weather. Cool, clear, 50° nights of magnificent starlight give way to mornings of picturesque valley fog, soaking in a gentle pastel sunrise. The sun gradually clears off the mist leaving 70° bug-free days of glorious sunshine and rustling breezes. Lots of rain has left the trees lush and green with an unusual end-of-summer freshness. Just a dash of red and orange hints of fall around the corner. As the weatherman commented, it’s the kind of day you wish you could store in a bottle to open in mid-January. Large glowing sunflowers planted by the squirrels complete the idyllic scenario. Even the goldfinches have been singing a new exuberant melody and hummingbirds remain to sip nectar from the phlox and dahlias.

Sept. 9, 2005 A sunny but chilly 44° this morning. The forecast is for temps to drop into the 30’s tonight with frost possible in the lower mountain hollows. We’ll pick what we can from the garden just in case. My plan was to harvest the potatoes today anyway, once the morning moisture burns off. We were treated to quite a spectacular display of aerial acrobatics Wednesday evening. There must have been a hatch of some tasty morsel that brought swarms of dragonflies dancing through the air. It was reminiscent of the graceful swooping and diving of feeding swallows, earlier in the summer.

Sept. 10, 2005 An absolutely clear, moisture-free day. Even the morning is without its usual misty valley. The mountains stand out with each peak and contour sharply defined. Individual trees are beginning to show a variety of fall color from yellow to orange, to the deep maroon-red of swamp maples. The lush green from our very wet August still predominates. There’s no tired, end-of-summer look to the trees. Grasses in the field are beginning to brown a bit as wildflowers go to seed and goldenrod pales. Purple asters with sunny, yellow faces dot the roadsides.

Sept. 11, 2005 Yesterday ended with the same crisp clarity that it began. An idyllic half moon settled over Halls Lake, sending a rippling beam across the water. Zillions of stars sparkled in the moisture-free sky. The only hint of clouds was from the arc of the milky way. Our misty river is back on this cool, 39° morning. Partial clouds block the sun’s full strength. A lone phoebe is perched on top of the woodpile, flicking its tail, patiently awaiting the warmth of the rising sun. I went berry picking for our lunch drink and although there are still red berries that need to ripen, the ripe blackberries were very scarce. I did however, find a fresh pile of bear poop in the berry patch which might help shed some light on the missing ripe blackberries.

Sept. 13, 2005 This is the time of year that opening the window quilts each morning brings a new, isolated burst of color. The dazzling orange maple at the back corner of the field offered an early beauty alert for today. This is also the time of year that we go from frost warnings to 80° temperatures in less than 24 hours. The bright clarity of fall has reverted back to the moist hazy days of summer. The center plot of the garden is harvested and tilled. Snow peas are gone, kohlrabi is waiting in the form of pasta sauce and stew in the freezer and potatoes are stored in the cool and dark of the basement. This year’s crop of katahdins are as tasty as always but leave much to be desired visually. We averaged about 5 spuds per plant so have around 90 potatoes to enjoy. The smallest and most damaged are already cooked for tonight's supper.

Sept. 14, 2005 Deliciously cool night air has suddenly appeared, gently returning us on the road to fall. The past couple of days of near record-breaking high temps and sultry summer humidity had abruptly thrown us back into mid-August but September has finally prevailed. Trees continue to slowly shed their green in exchange for some fall finery. Color is picking up daily. Early September seems to rush into color and then stall for a week or two before moving on to peak towards the beginning of October. Of course each fall follows its own timeline, offering a unique interpretation of the flow of seasons.

Sept. 17, 2005 A day of gentle rain is providing the trees with a beneficial soaking as they withdraw sap to their roots for winter. The ground water table should be high as well. Chipmunks and red squirrels planted a colorful grouping of sunflowers near the feeder. Chickadees and migrating warblers land on the giant yellow heads to pluck the ripening seeds. My attempts at planting sunflowers has been thwarted in the past by hungry spring crows and rodents. So I’ll just leave it to the random sprouting of spring larders to provide a fall flowering of sunflowers and watch the birds harvest the seeds. I was surprised to see a remaining hummingbird sipping nectar from the bee balm. I hadn’t refilled their feeders since I didn’t want to artificially lure them into postponing their migration. Stocking up on flower nectar I’m sure is more beneficial to the hummers at this time then the sugar water I provide.

Sept. 19, 2005 After a weekend of residual rain from the tropical storms down south, we were treated to a day of warmth and sunlight. Afternoon clouds are forming, majestic and puffy white in the bright blue sky. I harvested our 5 nice-sized delicata squash and will store them in the basement for a midwinter treat. A few more 8-ball zucchini are just beginning to form and should give us one more harvest there. All of the generic tomatoes are gone and Italian plum tomatoes are in the freezer. Cherry tomatoes are still abundant although many split and spoiled in the rain. We’ve harvested some tender chard for supper tonight. I took a brief walk through the woods. Most of the trees are still green but the occasional maple has decided to show off early and flaunt its bright orange cloak. Deer and a canine of some sort have left deposits on the trail. A very strong urine smell was in the air as I crossed back down to the lower woods. Something has been distinctly marking its territory. Fungi in all shapes, colors and sizes abound in the moist September forest.

Sept. 21, 2005 A warm morning glow bathes the valley in sunshine, highlighting our young, reddening swamp maple at the edge of the road. We seem to be hosting a bluejay convention this morning. The top of the woodpile offers a good landing spot and the perfect venue for strutting, preening and picking seeds from the drying goldenrod. September is the time for flocking. Jeff reported a large flock of turkey on both sides on Walden Hill yesterday. On his walk down the road they were congregating on the east side but had crossed to the field on the west when Jeff returned. We were treated to the sight and sound of migrating geese in Danville, Quebec but haven’t seen any on this side of the border yet. Evidently they stop over in the Danville (Quebec) area for about a month before continuing south.

Sept. 29, 2005 It’s a very blustery overcast fall day. Fortunately the leaves are still in the early stages of changing otherwise they’d all be swept away. After a week in Florida heat and humidity, I’m glad to be back to cooler weather. I had a very enjoyable visit with mom, the highlight of which nature-wise was an afternoon at the wetlands. The usual exotic tropical birds were there as well as lots of huge turtles and one medium sized alligator. When we first saw the gator he was just a pair of eyes on a bumpy “log” floating in the water. Our next siting was the same gator in very shallow water, his mouth propped open by a huge turtle. You’d hear an occasional crunch, see the gator flip the turtle around in his impressive jaws and crunch some more. Meanwhile, the turtle’s feet were frantically treading air as the turtle attempted to break free. More flipping and crunching ensued until the gator could finally swallow his mouthful of turtle. As the alligator swam off I observed a huge bulge in his throat, impressive teeth set in a “grin” and a bit of blood dripping from his jaws. A man with his digital camera complete with a very long telescopic lens mounted on a tripod recorded the rather lengthy ordeal. When I asked him if he had sound capability on his camera he said, “Unfortunately no, crunch crunch!”.

Sept. 30, 2005 The thermometer is hovering perilously close to freezing this morning. It doesn’t look like we sustained a frost but if we did get nipped, the dahlias and basil will let us know. Many parts of the state have had their first light frost this month with some areas on the western side seeing their first hard freeze. Most of the susceptible vegetables have been harvested but it would be nice to buy the dahlias some time. I checked the garden and we did indeed escape the frost last night and have come through September frost-free. NEK’s foliage week is almost ended and although the coolish weather feels like fall, our view is still a bit greenish with mostly early color. We’re still working towards the 50% mark of peak. A focal swamp maple is blazing, however, perfectly centered in our picture window with the valley receding towards majestic Mount Moosilauke. It looks like peak foliage will wait to belong to October this year.