Greetings from Susie’s Gardens. We were blessed with a couple inches of rain last night and really needed it. Everything was very dry and hanging limp. The temperatures remain very hot (95-plus) and I’m ready for fall. In fact, I would skip September and go right to October! Yet, the signs of change to fall are everywhere. The sun’s position has moved quite a bit to the south which changes where the shadows and bright spots are in the yard and garden. Days are getting shorter so we have longer nights and the evening temperatures are finally dipping into the 60s (my favorite range of high temperatures). 

     On a recent trip, down and back, I saw yellow poplar (tulip poplar) leaves starting to turn yellow, some sumac turning red, river birch turning, sweet gum turning yellow in the drier uplands (they seem to turn red first in the swamps, although they will turn all kinds of colors including orange  and deep purple). Fall webworms have constructed their gauze-like enclosed webs over whole branches of trees; some small, some large. Goldenrod now becoming more noticeable along the sides of the road. Once it was thought to be the cause of most hay fever problems but those laurels go to ragweed now, although I still think mold spores are the bigger problem. Just pile up a bunch of cut grass for a few days then rake off the top. It smells like mold and you’ll see all kinds of white growths. Hay probably was the first culprit. 

     Susie’s Gardens still have groups of phlox blooming regularly and the butterflies are all over them. The verbena and the gallardia also continue to bloom, as are the butterfly bushes and some clematis are blooming again. The fall clematis on the south side has climbed up the columnar cedar and are blooming with small white flowers. Goldfinches come daily to use the birdbaths and to feed on coneflower and zinnia seeds, and the hummingbirds are still very active. I just refilled all the feeders again with fresh “go-juice” (simple syrup to all you cooks). We have many cardinals in the yard. They must have had a good year in rearing young. I read in the paper this morning that the nighthawks were diving and swooping over The Diamond at the Richmond Braves baseball game, catching insects drawn to the bright lights. They are on migration now. Yesterday Bob Duggan of the Windemere Galleries stopped by to drop off some figs and pears. His fig trees are producing like crazy and we finally tried a recipe he and his wife Bettye gave us. Delicious! While we were talking, three hawks circled over head. The sun was in my face but I’m sure they were red-shouldered hawks. 

     The tomatoes continue to produce excellent unblemished fruit. With the rain again, I’ll have to get out there and pull those with color so they don’t split. The grape tomatoes (Juliette) produced heavy again. Actually they are a small plum tomato—shaped like a Roma—a sauce tomato. I had planted one other from B &B Farms that they had labeled “grape “tomato in their own handwriting. It turned out to be a yellow small plum that is very tasty and not as hard skinned. The Supersweet 1000 cherry tomatoes have also produced heavily and are sweet as advertised. The others I planted this year are standard for me—Better Boy, Fantastic, Early Girl, and Rutgers. Johan Guss up in New Market tells me she just blanches, skins, and freezes them for use later. Susie and Amy did that with Barry’s tomatoes last Saturday and put away four or five bags. Barry’s crop has been similar to mine—unblemished. I think we will process them the same these next couple of weeks. Easier than canning and I really don’t get enough at one time to can. 

     Leaving us a couple weeks ago was Karl Maslowski, a well-known writer-wildlife photographer.  He was 93 years old. He wrote a nature column for the Cincinnati Enquirer for over 30 years. I met Karl in the early 80s. I flew to Cincinnati (actually twice) to meet with sons Steve and Dave (Karl had already retired) to go through their film footage to buy and use on my TV program. On the first trip they took me out for dinner to have the famous Cincinnati chili. A recent note in the Outdoor Writers Association of America news magazine mentions only Steve as survivor, so now I have to find out what happened to Dave the younger son. You’ll see the name Maslowski Studios on bird photos in numerous magazines. I also purchased their images for publications I did at the Game Department and on the calendar. Virginia Wildlife frequently uses their stuff. The forecast is for more rain—early September is frequently the time we get a lot—and cooler temperatures. I’m ready for it. 

     Hope you are all doing well. Take Care, Be Safe, Hang Tuff, and God Bless you. 

© 2006 Spike Knuth All Rights Reserved.

Editor's Note: If you would like to write about your back yard, please feel free to do so. And include photos. JAF