First Frost 2014

Local weather forecasts warned of frost last night.  We found that hard to believe since the evening was both warm and overcast.  Early this morning our thermometer registered 38 degrees F so  assumptions were made that we had escaped again the first fall frost.  This afternoon a trip to the back garden revealed that frost had lightly visited during the night.  Some of the butternut squash leaves showed the signs of just a little frost.  Part of this leaf is dead while some of it continues to perform life functions.  Butternut squash needs cold nights to set its sugars and last night surely moved that process along.  Many huge squash remain in the field improving their flavor in response to the cold.

Nearby, this leaf shows a frost curled edge.  Try as we might, no progress has been made in gaining insight or understanding about the actual workings of frost.  Cold sinks toward the ground and is moved about by air currents.  Plants nearest the woods displayed no frost damage while those at greater distance from the trees were hit.  Cold air slides down the nearby ridge and swirls about hitting some spots and missing others.

Our wake up temperature was 38 causing me to believe that we had missed a frost.  Later my error was discovered since there is no reason to believe that the lowest overnight temperature is reached just before dawn.  Air masses are constantly moving about so the coldest air could have visited here during the night.  Lack of visible morning frost does not mean that frost was absent.

Here the higher younger leaf is undamaged while the lower leaf is lightly burned.  Conventional wisdom says that frost settles downward from the sky so one would expect the higher leaves to burn first.  The outline of the upper leaf can be seen marking the edge of the burn on the lower leaf.  How did this happen?
 

Our lower garden near the house appeared undamaged at first look.  Two frost burned heliotropes were discovered inside of the stone square adjacent to stone paths.  We have previously seen the protective effect of heat stored in stones but on this night cold swept in the opening in the wall and moved across these two low plants.  We could find no other damage inside of the walled square.

Cleaning up frost destroyed plants is a horrible task.  Foul odors, slippery leaves and the mass destruction combine to make the cleanup difficult.  Our preference is to move tender plants to the compost pile while they are still green.  All of the peppers and some of the basil were composted yesterday afternoon.  The remaining basil was covered and stands ready to supply one more pesto dinner.

Working outside now is nearly perfect.  Clear blue skies warm the surface air quickly.  As more planting beds are cleared of weeds, the garden is beginning to look like it is ready for the next crop.  Early afternoon finds the tiny flying biting insects feeding voraciously since the cold nights signal an end to their season.  Those insect bites have us looking forward to the first hard killing frost.  It will end many of the plants but it will also end the annoying bugs.

Clear Signs From The North

This week  signs of change in the garden have been clear.  The goldenrod and milkweed have gone to seed.   Butterflies and hummingbirds now gone  have been replaced with flocks of twittering birds.  A flock of starlings changing its undulating shape over a neighboring cornfield caught my eye.  My trips to the garden sent an explosion of  goldfinches and chickadees to the safety of the trees from the sunflowers where they were feasting on seeds.  They returned to their feeding as soon as the coast was clear.  For several mornings we  watched a fairly large bird sit atop the tallest beanpole in the garden.  At first we thought it was a kestrel, but close examination through the  binoculars revealed  a dark gray back and head, a rusty red chest with white spots, yellow feet and a red eye.  From the size of the bird Ed and I decided it must be a sharp shinned hawk.

Today the signs became stronger.  The small birds seem to have deserted the garden.  The distant sound of geese filled the air, but at first all we could see was the bottom of dark clouds.  The geese were flying  above them.  Later in the day more flocks of geese formed large Vs in the sky so high that they were hard to see.  It seems early in the year for serious migration.   Some geese remain on the river until the ice begins to form.  But today many were heading south.

This year some of the trees are beautifully colored, others are still green and many like this one have lost their leaves completely.  Where this has happened the leaves on the ground give off the unmistakable fragrance of late fall.   This tree that really got my attention.  Its leaves are totally gone while a nearby sugar maple still holds its green leaves.

When I finished my long chilly tractor ride, before I came in the house, I cut a few flowers from the garden.  I chose a sprig of butterfly bush, a moon flower bud, some of Ed's lovely mums, a sprig of heliotrope and the flowering jasmine starbright.  From the signs I'm getting, tomorrow might be too late!

Bee...autiful Garden Pictures, Photos By Ed

My sunflowers that come up from seed every year are currently one of the big attractions in the garden.  Their sunny yellow faces never fail to make me smile and the bees are delighted.

The heliotrope is putting out a second series of flowers.  I love these old fashioned flowers with their sweet vanilla cherry pie fragrance.  With the rain we have had the leaves looks great.  All this will be mine to enjoy until frost.
  

This bright orange butterfly weed has been gorgeous this year!   It seems to be very happy here and the butterflies find it so attractive.   I wouldn't say it clashes with the blue lobelia and the white phlox in the background, but it sure stands out!

The butterfly bush that grows at the base of Ed's stone wall is putting on a lovely display for a plant that I thought was dead earlier in the season.  Buddleia is always touch and go here.  I'm delighted to watch the butterflies and hummingbird moths enjoy this plant.  I love it's delicate fragrance myself.
  

After enjoying a perfect garden ripe tomato at lunch, I had to include Ed's photo of this beautiful set of tomatoes.

 To be sure there are some ugly garden pictures that could be taken here.  We have tons of weeds, squash with powdery mildew ... Perhaps I will post them sometime, but today I went with bee...autiful!