Raven Ridge Gardens: Fall

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Orb Weavers Return

Hooray! In keeping with the season: The orb weavers seem to be returning in greater numbers than I've seen in the last few years. I equate their presence with a more "normal" autumn leading to rain showers by October. This weather pattern has been woefully lacking for several years, along with fewer and fewer orb weavers. Now they are back and so is the rain: An inch or more in the last few days, setting us up for a cooler, wetter fall. One can hope.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

The Autumnal Equinox is Upon Us

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September 22, 2016 at 10:21 AM EDT (7:21 AM PDT) is the exact moment of this year's Autumn Equinox.

Here on Raven Ridge, the leaves have been turning hues of orange, yellow and red for a number of weeks. I don't know if that portends a cold, rainy winter or a cold, dry winter. But, if the balmy evening we had last night, where we were able to stay out on the deck in shirt sleeves until well past 8:30 (almost unheard of on this foggy coast of northern California), is any indication, we probably won't see rain anytime soon.

Depicted here is a Viburnum trilobum, or American Cranberry Bush. It happily grows outside my office window.

Check out this link on The Farmers Almanac web site for fall equinox information. And don't be thrown off by the year in the link, it is really for 2016.

Happy Autumn Equinox!