‘Tis the Season
In the high desert, the seasons change in less conventional ways. There are no crisp days and changing leaves here (we’re too low for the gilding of the aspens). Our “trees” are scrub oaks, and the leaves of scrub oaks actually turn a dingey yellow and drop to the ground in March every year. The first year I lived here, I thought all my trees were dying one spring. Not so. They just have their seasonal ministrations inverted.
The very first sign of Fall, usually in mid-to-late August, is a cool morning. Not a cool day. Not a cool evening. Just a morning where, when you walk outside for the first time, you aren’t hit by a warm wave of sauna-like conditions. You can actually breathe deeply and glide into it easily. The days are still in the upper 90s. But the morning offers just the slightest suggestion of what is coming. By September, you get a few cool evenings thrown into the mix, too. Still blazing hot during the day, but the air is able to shed the scorch after sundown.
And–just as I often refer to summer here as “snake season”–I often refer to early Fall as “skunk season.” The road to town has been lousy with skunk hides and lingering skunk smell (what The Bee calls “Peeeuwwweeeeee!”) all week. I don’t know why they suddenly appear in early September, but all my epic late-night dog baths of V8 and vinegar have taken place in early September. In fact, the reason I wasn’t up early watching the news on the morning of 9-11 was because I was sleeping off a particularly late dog-and-vinegar bath, post-rendezvous with a skunk.
So, the rains have been declared officially over for the year, after a few sprinkles this weekend. We had more rain here this year than last, but still fairly feeble. To celebrate the End of the Rains and to herald the coming of autumn–my favorite season–(although since I moved to the desert, winter is fast becoming my new favorite. That thing about snakes plays a big role in that determination)–here are a few shots of the clouds that we were visited with this year:
The last is my favorite. That’s Black Mountain. The ranch sits at the foot of it. I think it looks like Scotland more than usual with this hirsute skein of clouds.
Happy Fall!
Those are gorgeous! But your trees sound really confused.
I am waiting for one of my dogs to meet a skunk. So far only one of the cats has managed it.
Comment by: Maia - 09.17.2007 - 2.13 pm
Showing my love of the cliche, the first one–which looks like an Ed Mell painting–is my fave.
The reason fall is skunk season for you is that the skunks are moving downwards. They move up in the spring & hang out in the mountains in the summer. We were lucky in that we had only one skunk encounter; our dawg learned his lesson well and kept away from the skunks from then on.
Comment by: OmegaMom - 09.17.2007 - 2.20 pm
Your pictures are really beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by: Mrs Pushy - 09.17.2007 - 2.58 pm
You live in a fascinating place.
Comment by: Cavatica - 09.17.2007 - 3.07 pm
Pretty! It’s been extra skunky around here too.
Off topic: I’ll tell about our candle ceremony later on my PP blog.
Comment by: christie - 09.17.2007 - 3.09 pm
Great post - exactly what I was in the mood for! It’s still hit and miss down here for a good month more, but we did finally have one of those cool mornings. And we might not even reach 90 today - that’s huge!! Unfortunately, the traffic is already showing signs of increasing dramatically as our winter population expands…
Comment by: atomic mama - 09.17.2007 - 3.58 pm
Oh, good — you caught yesterday’s wonderful sunset. I was zonked & gave it a pass, but certainly enjoyed watching the clouds turn pink and salmon and then greying out. Thanks for saving it on the hard disk!
Comment by: Julie - 09.17.2007 - 5.57 pm
I like that you have a landmark. Pretty pics. I wish I was there. It is getting very cold here.
Comment by: Nicole - 09.17.2007 - 6.03 pm
Gorgeous photos. the sky is so big there.
Comment by: Beeb - 09.17.2007 - 10.49 pm
Nice use of the word hirsute, SBird. I’ve never thought of clouds that way…we’ll have to talk about that later. Over a beer or something.
Anyway…I LOVE the #4 photo. Those clouds are just lovely. Something the desert is good for - landscape photos that really tell a story.
Xo
Comment by: wzgirl - 09.17.2007 - 11.17 pm
Wow, what a big sky. We don’t have those big skies down here in the city. It feeds the soul.
Comment by: Brooklyn Mama - 09.18.2007 - 4.15 am
Beautiful pics, especially the first one. I love when sunsets take on lots of gold color.
Comment by: Project Ni Hao - 09.18.2007 - 8.12 am
“the gilding of the aspens…” That phrase will be with me all day.
Comment by: walternatives - 09.18.2007 - 1.29 pm