Uprooted common burdock.
August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.
-Sylvia Plath
It finally got cool enough that Waldo and I can go walking without getting up at 4 AM. We did get out of bed at 6, which is still plenty early in my estimation, but at least the sun was up. The temperature is a nice 60℉ and it’s a bit muggy. There’s a light breeze, but even so, the air is hazy due to smoke from wildfires in Canada. I can’t smell the smoke, like I have in the past, but I can definitely see it.
The common burdock is putting up flowers and tiny nascent burr balls on 4-foot-high stalks. As I’ve blogged previously, I’m at war with the stuff. In the fall, these things turn into small maces whose business ends assault Waldo’s fur and my peace of mind. Once in his fur, the damn things are really hard to extract and they come in bunches of 6 to 10. And they’re out there, threatening to attack, for weeks. Last year, I had enough and I uprooted every one I could find. This year, I’m starting early. As I walk along, I look for those stalks (not all burdock plants have them). When I find one, I grab it, near where it comes out of the ground, with both hands, and lean back with all my weight. If I can’t get it out, I smash it down next to the ground and try again the next day. So far this year, the score is Byron — 6, Waldo’s fur – 0, and burdock – 0. This morning, I pulled out the last one I could find. So far.
The presence of the burdock stalks is only one sign that summer is past its midpoint. The sun is rising noticeably later and setting earlier. Acorns and black walnut fruits are appearing on the ground. The Japanese knotweed is leaving its tiny, not so tenacious, burrs in Waldo’s fur (for reasons I don’t understand, he likes to walk under whatever weeds are out there, picking up bits of flowers, sticks, burrs and probably ticks). The grass on the new park above Fort Meadow Reservoir is green and long (it has even been mowed once). The Emmy birds have not migrated south yet, but they aren’t nearly as vociferous as they were in the spring and early summer.
As we pass the athletic field belonging to the Assebet Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, I notice two Canadian geese lounging on the manicured lawn. Now that is really odd. It can’t be a sign of a waning summer, geese don’t migrate south until late September into October. As I write this, it’s still early August. These guys should be up in Northern Canada making little baby goslings, not down here. I wonder what kind of insult humanity has perpetrated on Mother Nature that made these geese wander so far south so soon. I can’t imagine they’re on their way to their winter nesting grounds in the southern US and northern Mexico. It’s still too damn hot. Maybe they’re escaping the wildfires that are raging up in Canada right now?
The bugs this year haven’t been all that bad. In the past, on a day like this, I have been beset by intrusive mosquitoes, intent on doing a little blood-letting. There are some gnats that buzz about, making themselves a nuisance, but no mosquitoes. It’s been wet enough that there are ponds, pools and puddles on both sides of the trail that can spawn a plethora of the little monsters, yet there are none. Their absence can’t be due to summer nearing middle age, it’s still way too early for the buggers to pack it in for the year; something else must be going on. Eastern Equine Encephalitis was detected here in the spring and they sprayed for mosquitoes back then to get that under control, maybe it was more effective than I could have hoped.
Waldo has been a bit off his feed for the past month or so. I’m not sure why, but I’m thinking it’s because of the heat. There have been days when he hasn’t eaten breakfast until midafternoon. That isn’t like him. He’s a very good eater. I’m thinking it might be the heat because, now that it’s a bit cooler, he’s eating better. At it’s worst, I could always prime the puppy by putting a treat on top pf his food to get him started. He then eats the whole bowl full of kibble. So, I’m not that worried about him. Maybe his eating better is just another sign that summer is past its prime.
There are definite signs that summer is on its way out and some signs that may be unrelated. Either way, I enjoy wondering about how things change and evolve over time. Soon, I’m hoping, it’ll be cool enough that Waldo and I can once again wander further afield and accomplish some of the goals I have for us. Notably, I want to finish the Mass Central Rail Trail and start the Mid State Trail. It’s just not possible now, in this heat. Then, before too long, it’ll be freezing outside.
And we’ll be wishing for just a bit of warmth.
The enemy.