Where Did Autumn Go?

This has been a strange year indeed in central Kentucky.  Spring was quite moderate by historical standards and furnished everyone with a long and accommodating period to plant crops and gardens.  Then, after all the seeds went into the ground and managed to sprout, the faucet got turned off.  We went into a dry spell that was exacerbated by some lengthy periods of hot weather.  If the hot and dry periods hit your growing crops at pollination, it was lights out for production.

 

Unfortunately, a few row crops and gardens fell into this category.  Fortunately, most crops and gardens did not.  It all came down to the sync between the maturity and weather.  As late summer bled over into early fall, it appeared that there would be no second cutting of hay, the ponds were all down to extremely low levels, and the ground water table had taken a beating.  Then, lo and behold, we hit a wet spell and that precious rain fell in most areas.  Hayfields and pasture bounced back with an incredible recovery and we headed into a moderate season that permitted almost everyone to harvest their crops uninterrupted.  A decent second cutting of hay was realized by most everyone.  And even though there was the good news of high yields and good markets for the field crops, the low water lines in creeks and ponds conveyed the undeniable fact that the ground water table remained at extremely low levels.

 

Then, somewhere right about the first day of November, the unseasonably-warm temps gave way to grayer days, cooler nights, and steady winds.  It seemed that the switch had been flipped from late summer to winter and our fall got somewhat abbreviated.  Where it had been not uncommon to have good grass and even some hay up into December, we are now in the middle of November and wondering if maybe the hay needs to go into the rings.  The combination of early low temperatures with high energy prices is not a good omen at all.

 

It has been a strange year for nature in many ways.  On our farm, we had no pears or apples, the buckeye tree yielded less than half a crop, and there were hardly any peaches or plums whatsoever.  The hickory nuts were pretty sparse and the acorns were rare, but we had the best grape crop in years.  The garden gave us a good yield of green beans, onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes; but the squash production was disappointing.  The sunflowers grew to extraordinary heights and their sunshine flowers were huge and heavy.  There were no cherries this year; the cherry blooms must have gotten bit by a late frost.  And although there were bunches of red berries on the briars, the dry and hot weather dried the blackberries up before they could ripen fully. 

 

We had a handful of good, old country thunderstorms, but nothing that was too severe.  The wind kicked up a bit here and there and dropped some limbs and old trees on the fences, but again…it wasn’t that bad and certainly could have been worse.   There was enough wood that hit the ground for the firewood ricks to be replenished.

 

In the dryer parts of Kentucky, the usually brilliant colors of fall were dulled somewhat by the dry weather.  The leaves seemed to hang onto the trees a bit longer than usual, but for many areas, there was simply insufficient moisture to create the kaleidoscope of color that we usually experience.   As for my part of the state, we had a glorious landscape with rich and varied color galore.  When that cool and cold weather hit us in November, followed by a fairly heavy rain or two, the leaves came tumbling down in torrents and covered the ground in a thick, crunchy blanket.

 

Something…somehow…seemed amiss with this year.  Mother nature and the weather patterns just always felt a bit disjointed and out of sorts.  It almost leads one to believe that this coming winter will have an episode or two that will not play out quite according to script.  Perhaps a deep, deep snow or an extended freeze.  Heaven forbid we experience another ice storm like we did a few years back!  One of those in my lifetime is quite sufficient, thank you.  I will eternally marvel at the ability of the land and woods to recover from adverse weather and somehow restore a sense of order to what we too quickly perceive as crisis.  My son has been down from the city this week to deer hunt and has taken a buck and a doe for the freezer; both appeared to be sound and healthy.

 

There is one thing for certain…we were truly blessed to witness our beautiful and bountiful world in all of its glory and wonder this year and no matter what the winter months might bring, there has been ample opportunity to lay by in store and prepare for the days that lie ahead.  As calendar year 2022 winds down to a close with Christmas Season inexplicably commencing before Halloween even arrived, we once again thank the Good Lord for another year of life and privilege to live where we live in a wonderful nation full of good people. 

 

This weekend, we will gather around the table with our children and grandchildren and enjoy a feast of a meal.  We will have the freedom and right to discuss anything and everything that is on our minds and any form of censorship will be way off limits.  On Sunday, we will attend our church and worship according to our faith with no concern whatsoever about anything but our God Almighty.  Life is good.  It is “Thanksgiving” indeed.