September means seven. I know. I hear you. It’s the ninth month. But remember - the old Roman calendar originally only had ten months. January and February didn’t exist yet. Obviously they hadn’t discovered Alberta or they would have been included.
When they added January and February, none of the old calendar names changed. Yup, it confuses me too. Lets just skip past what the name means and agree that September is the start of autumn in the north part of the earth and the start of spring in the south.
In Canada, kids are back in school. Parents catch their breath. And teachers smile as they survey all the new faces in their classroom. Some even begin the countdown until Thanksgiving long weekend. Retired folk acknowledge the movement of the shiny orange school buses and notice playgrounds are a hub of noise and activity during recess again.
After everyone's on board with their new routines, the season pauses … for a few weeks, days or maybe only a few hours. Some folks believe whatever the weather was on the 1st day of September indicates what the entire month is going to look like. Just an FYI - it was totally wrong this year.
43 years ago, I
got married on the September long weekend. I know, 43 years, how did that
happen? So fast? It was a beauty of a fall day. Crunchy leaves. No need for
coats, umbrellas, toques ...
Two days later we
headed out on our honeymoon … in the snow. See what I mean? Mother nature.
Alberta. September. Quite a combination.
Signs I relate to the changing of seasons in Calgary are:
- after
months of silence, the furnace starts to kick in at 6 AM again
- blue
jays stop in and squawk (they’ve been gone all summer)
- robins show up in flocks instead of on their own
- hares develop white blotches
- Northern Flickers
use their long beaks to aerate the lawn (we really should hire them -
every spring and fall they do a thorough job)
- squirrels become more neurotic (seasonal? or maybe they're looking for their stash?)
Google, of course,
has its own ideas on how to determine when winter will pounce on us:
- mice find ways to get indoors (I have experienced this)
- if
hornet or wasp nests seem higher in the trees than normal, it means we’re in
for deep snow (how the heck could they know that? And why in the world would
we trust hornets or wasps?)
- a narrow orange band between the black ends of a caterpillar means a harsh winter is coming. If the band is brown, it will be a mild winter
I have no idea what kind of winter these caterpillars are predicting
- when
you pull an onion out of the garden and the skin is tough and/or thick, it’s
going to be a cold one
- tucking a chestnut in your pocket wards off arthritis and headaches (nothing weird about that)
Baker, Barbara - BWL Publishing Inc.
(bookswelove.net)
Barbara Baker Author Page Facebook
Summer
of Lies by Barbara Baker — BWL Publishing
I plan to put an acorn in my pocket! I love your factoids about winter predictions. Haven't seen any white spots on hares in southern Ontario yet, but I am already keeping a jacket in my car, just in case winter rears its ugly head too soon.👍💕💕 Thanks for another informative blog👍☀️🌈
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I'm a bit south of you on the Hudson River. I've noticed the squirrels have been busy during the past few weeks.
ReplyDeleteIn Central Arizona, near Phoenix, September is still at 100+ temperatures... 109 today. But it comes with some rain. Yay! The first signs of change come in October, first in Northern Arizona, in the mountains, where the leaves turn color. Then comes my favorite season, when the nights are cool and the days balmy. When the day temperature reaches the 70s, I get out my sweaters. Looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOMGosh! I'd melt. We had frost last night. Always a good sign. It'll make the wasps go into hiding.
DeleteIn Central Ontario, the Canadian geese began flying south mid-August... yikes! More and more flocks are heading to the warmer climes on a daily basis. Here, the temperature is 18 degrees Celsius but will warm to 20 degrees later this afternoon. That's 68 degrees Fahrenheit for the US folks :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Our gulls have been extremely active this past week but no big flocks of geese heading south yet.
ReplyDelete