Welcome gardeners and nature enthusiasts to the fifth season,

*Getting ready to make sweet pepper relish*

Last week I was quite taken by an editorial column by Renee Loth titled “The fifth season is upon us, but I am resisting its call”. Ms. Loth cites that the Taoists identify this time of the year as the period between the full moon of August and the autumnal equinox on September 22nd. A hinge season. This is a time when full-on summer has waned, but fall is not yet upon us.

Now is when my head cries out in panic, as the to-get-done list looms heavily. Yet my soul calls out that I must take precious moments to appreciate and relish this poetic time of year.

So here I am. The gardens have lost their vigor; lush greens have turned to olive. Powdery mildew covers the squash, blight climbs the tomato vines, mosaic virus has claimed my late cucumber planting. It’s all ok. It’s time to gather in the harvest, and, believe it or not, that harvest has been plentiful! Yes, we are busy pickling, canning, freezing, dehydrating (so many paprika peppers and herbs!), and storing the winter keepers. Now wait a dog-gone minute, Judith…

Give or take a couple of days, the barn swallows and tree swallows got the urge and departed on their ancestral pathway just about the time of that August 19th full moon. We miss leaning on the garden fork and marveling at their aerodynamics. Within another day or two Gene and I whiled away lunch on the porch giggling at a multitude of juvenile bird species earning their wings. A brood of bluebirds, wobbling and unable to hold onto a branch perch, flap awkwardly to the ground. A speckled robin with wings aflutter begging for a treat from an ignoring parent. A couple of flickers marched down my brick edging poking and probing for ants. A hawk screaming for a parent from a treetop, unseen but certainly heard, for at least an hour. A shy pileated woodpecker, head bobbing to and fro on the tailback suet feeder, before whacking away pretty much the entire cake. You say this can’t happen all at once? But indeed it did!

*One Haul of Hungarian Magyar Paprika Peppers*

So now on the 8th of September, a couple of female hummingbirds are still here enjoying huge red canna blossoms. The nectar feeder is ignored except by a chickadee who thinks this candy is very tasty. The blackbirds have swarmed in by the hundreds but this batch hung out for only two days. The oriole stayed around until the 29th of August! Now everybody is vying over the birdbaths, water being extremely important during these dry days.

The sassafras and elm leaves are drifting down dotting the lawn, a harbinger of what’s to come. I see the needles on the pine trees turning tawny, and soon they will shed. I haven’t even finished half the mulching of the perennial beds! And now the leaves? What about cleaning up the vegetable gardens? The raking? The brush clearing? The housework- that’s a winter job, right? But that’s when I work on hibernation…

With a bit more chill in the early morning air, I wrap my hands around a hot cup of coffee on the porch with Gene, watch the sun rise through the eastern pines as its brightness catches my eye and forces me to change chairs. The clean fresh air, the birds busy with their new day- yup that’s the way to start the day. And winding down? That’s all about a cold beer on the porch with Gene, going over each other’s day, and watching long shadows cast across the lawn.

Yes, this is capturing summer at its best. And as Renee alludes, let’s loosen our grip on all those expectations and take measure on what is measureless.

To the fifth season!

That’s it for now,

Judy

September Musings 2024

Nashua Farmers’ Exchange