Season-changing storm



View from Waggoner's Gap, looking north



It’s fall now, whatever the calendar says. On Saturday afternoon a severe storm front moved through the entire east coast, scouring out the wretched humidity and dropping the temperature a good 20 degrees. Behind that storm, the weather is crisp and cool at night, requiring a light blanket on the bed. Behind the storm, the migration floodgates opened, bringing raptors and songbirds south.

I spent Sunday at Waggoner’s Gap hawkwatch, enjoying the show. Merlins and American Kestrels, 23 Bald Eagles and 12 Ospreys, Sharp-shiinned and Cooper’s Hawks, a Red-shouldered Hawk and nearly 200 Broad-winged Hawks all moved south. And it wasn’t just the raptors that migrated either—more than 100 monarch butterflies, 15 red-breasted nuthatch, nearly 300 chimney swifts also crossed the mountain.

It’s time to pull the long-sleeve shirts out of storage and put away the short-sleeved ones. Time to think about making soup and stews again. Time to finish that knitting project. Time to get the cabin ready for cooler weather.

So, in my book, it’s now official. Summer is over and fall is here. The calendar will catch up to the season eventually.