The leaves were late to change color and stayed on the trees longer than expected, temperatures last week were 15 degrees above normal, and the ducks are late arriving from the north. In my city neighborhood we haven’t had a really hard frost yet.
Have you noticed this, too?
A strong El Niño is warming the northern U.S. and southern Canada this fall (red on map below).
Without ice forming on the northern lakes, waterfowl have no compelling reason to come south. When do you think the big flocks will arrive?
p.s. Click here for more information and the Weather Channel’s Winter 2015-2016 forecast.
Flowering dogwood in October, annotated (photo by Chuck Tague)
Throw Back Thursday (TBT):
What should we expect outdoors in late October?
Colorful leaves, fruits on trees, the first frost … and more in this Throw Back Thursday article: What To Look For in Late October.
This year Halloween is the last day of Daylight Saving Time. On Halloween night we’ll turn our clocks back to Standard Time and the next day the sun will rise at 6:49 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and set at 5:17 p.m. Rush hour in the dark!
Yellow Ladies’ Tresses (photo by Dianne Machesney)
Winter’s not here yet so there’s still time to see fall orchids blooming in western Pennsylvania.
Yellow Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes ochroleuca) are relatively common. Standing 4 to 21 inches tall, they grow in dry open habitats such as open woods, thickets or meadows and even by side of the road. Dianne Machesney photographed the one above at Moraine State Park.
October Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes ovalis), below, are so rare that they’re listed as endangered in Pennsylvania. Their USDA Pennsylvania map shows them occurring only in Lancaster County.
October Ladies’ Tresses (photo by Dianne Machesney)
Despite this status, Dianne and Bob Machesney found them blooming at both McConnells Mill and Moraine State Parks on 19 September 2015.
You can find October Ladies’ Tresses this month in moist, shady woods or thickets, or along the edges of marshes. Keep your eyes peeled for a flower that’s 2 to 15 inches tall.
October’s here, the growing season is over, and soon you’ll clear your garden.
This year, don’t do it. Save yourself the labor and increase bird activity in your yard. Here’s why from Marcy Cunkelman in this 2010 Throw Back Thursday article: Why Not to Clear Your Garden.
Autumn would not be complete without a look at two gentians that bloom in western Pennsylvania from late August to October.
Bottle or closed gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) is relatively common, especially in damp shaded soil at Moraine State Park. When the flowers bloom they remain so tightly closed that only bumblebees can force their way in and pollinate the plant. Other insects cheat, however, and pierce the flower to reach the nectar.
Fens are open wetlands dominated by grasses and sedges that have pH neutral or alkaline water with lots of dissolved minerals. Fens seem useless to humans because they’re so soggy but they’re exactly where fringed gentians love to grow.
Visit damp places in September and October to find these two gentians.
Late Coralroot, flower close-up, 14 Sep 2015, Butler County, PA (photo by Kate St. John)
Last Monday I attended a botanical outing that promised fall orchids including this one: Late Coralroot.
Late or Autumn Coralroot (Corallorhiza odontorhiza) is a tiny orchid that grows in eastern North America from Quebec to Texas. Like Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) it’s a parasitic plant that feeds on fungi so it has neither chlorophyll nor leaves. Most of the year it lives underground. Then in late summer it sends up one stem to produce tiny flowers only 1/5″ long which bloom from August to October.
The stems we found in Butler County, Pennsylvania were dark purple-brown, about 8 inches tall. From above they looked like small useless sticks but as soon as we found them we realized how easy it would be to step on one unawares. Yow.
The plant’s color and size made it difficult to photograph. Nonetheless, here are some (poor) photos to give you an idea of the plant. Here it is as seen from ground level, though not the entire plant.
Late Coralroot (photo by Kate St. John)
This closeup shows the flower’s white un-notched lip with purple spots. It also shows a strange characteristic: Some flowers are rotated sideways.
Late Coralroot flower, turned on its axis (photo by Kate St. John)
When the flowers go to seed they droop along the stem.
Late Corlaroot, flowers gone to seed (photo by Kate St. John)
Though the plant looks like a tall weed, this pretty flower is blooming now in fields and open areas.
As its name suggest, Biennial gaura (Gaura biennis) takes two years to bloom. In the first year it’s a rosette of basal leaves that sends down deep roots to survive wet winters and dry summers. In the second year it grows 4-6 feet tall and blooms in August.
The flowers are white when they bloom and turn pink as they fade. I never notice the plant until the flowers are pink.
