It's fun to read your east coast viewpoint on autumn, Linda!
It's almost Halloween (Nevada Day) in the Great Basin Desert, too! There aren't many decorations in my rural neighborhood, where the lack of sidewalks and streetlights and the distance between houses dissuades trick-or-treaters. I don't have any trees, but the Rabbitbrush is providing bright yellow fall colors, and my sneezing proves that the yellow dust is pollen!
Coyotes and jackrabbits are plentiful in Carson Valley, but I've never seen a fox here. Quail and cottontails are usually pretty numerous - along with assorted hawks to eat them - but the population of wild fauna seems smaller than usual due to our ongoing drought, which also brings more wildfires than usual! Come to think of it, we've had more than the usual number of bear sightings in my neighborhood this year. And I always love hearing "my" Great Horned Owl hooting through the night..
I need to finish vacuuming out the furnace, changing the filters, and lighting the pilot before fall weather starts in earnest. It's already getting down to 30s in the mornings, but back up to 80 or so in the afternoons! Final rows of alfalfa bask in the sun as they quickly turn to hay and are baled for use during the winter.
As the sharp-edged ice crystals return to your big city, I'm hoping for a soft yet bountiful snowpack in the Carson Range to provide vital time-release fresh water in the coming spring! One advantage to living without streetlights is that the Milky Way is almost always visible as a river of light in the dark night sky. Freezing weather solidifies the effect and removes the shimmering atmospheric artifacts of hot August nights..
It's fun to read your east coast viewpoint on autumn, Linda!
It's almost Halloween (Nevada Day) in the Great Basin Desert, too! There aren't many decorations in my rural neighborhood, where the lack of sidewalks and streetlights and the distance between houses dissuades trick-or-treaters. I don't have any trees, but the Rabbitbrush is providing bright yellow fall colors, and my sneezing proves that the yellow dust is pollen!
Coyotes and jackrabbits are plentiful in Carson Valley, but I've never seen a fox here. Quail and cottontails are usually pretty numerous - along with assorted hawks to eat them - but the population of wild fauna seems smaller than usual due to our ongoing drought, which also brings more wildfires than usual! Come to think of it, we've had more than the usual number of bear sightings in my neighborhood this year. And I always love hearing "my" Great Horned Owl hooting through the night..
I need to finish vacuuming out the furnace, changing the filters, and lighting the pilot before fall weather starts in earnest. It's already getting down to 30s in the mornings, but back up to 80 or so in the afternoons! Final rows of alfalfa bask in the sun as they quickly turn to hay and are baled for use during the winter.
As the sharp-edged ice crystals return to your big city, I'm hoping for a soft yet bountiful snowpack in the Carson Range to provide vital time-release fresh water in the coming spring! One advantage to living without streetlights is that the Milky Way is almost always visible as a river of light in the dark night sky. Freezing weather solidifies the effect and removes the shimmering atmospheric artifacts of hot August nights..
Beautiful description, Gary. Thanks for adding to the fall experience around the country!