25 September 2015 - Color Tour

I have been watching the color try to change on the mountain. It has been so hot and dry here that many of the trees leaves are going straight to brown and falling off. Wasn't wet enough for much color on the western slopes. I needed an excuse to get out of the house and a road trip sounded like a good idea. In the higher elevations the aspen were yellow, but I missed the prime color by a week. Even knowing the color was early this year, I was surprised by how many totally bare trees there were. 

But it was a gorgeous day to be out. Deep Utah blue skies, golden aspens and wonderful vistas. 

I happened to run across a caterpillar that was moving very fast across the boardwalk. Interesting colors and quite striking. I had the thought of picking him up and putting him back down so I could get a good picture but didn't do it. When I got home and looked him up I discovered it was a good decision. Those spikey hairs can cause great itchy discomfort as well as trigger allergic reactions. He turns into a Spotted Tussock Moth, not nearly as pretty as the caterpillar. 

Sometimes the road traveled through groves of aspens. Driving into this yellow glow made me wonder if this is what it is like for insects preserved in amber. 

My trip took me to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, up over Guardsman Pass (elevation 9719 feet) back down several miles of steep dirt roads, up again to another pass overlooking Heber Valley, then another steep descent into Midway, a picturesque little town.

Big Cottonwood Canyon was yellow with aspens. The other side of Guardsman Pass on the Pine Canyon side was red with maples. 

You just never know what you will see. I had to pull over gawk in amazement, then laugh at this. All I can say is I don't know what they are but I really want one, or better yet several, so I can roll around with friends. Doesn't this look like a blast? 

These kids were running into each other, turning summersaults, rolling around and laughing like loons. 

I took the opportunity to do a little birding along the river, the reservoir and the Heber Creeper railroad tracks. 

It was a lovely day to be out. 

15 September 2015 - Early Fall Insects

Our weird weather continues. Hot June. Cooler July. Really hot August. Now September. Exquisitely perfect temps the first week. Then with a big whomp, fall fell on us. 

The first sign was waking up one morning to find yellow leaves piled up along the sidewalk.  The weird part was that there were no yellow leaves in the trees. What? They turned yellow and fell over night? Hardly. But we had a few cold nights and the leaves started changing almost immediately. 

Yesterday and today we had torrential rain. Today the rain was accompanied by marble-sized hail and for an hour there was constant thunder and lightning. It was a glorious display! This evening the west side of the valley cleared up giving us 15 minutes of sun even while it rained. It made an amazing rainbow. 

I could see it end to end. And it was one of the most vibrant that I have ever seen. 

I have noticed there are many ways to tell when the seasons are changing. You don't really need a calendar at all. An easy way is to watch the flora. For example, what is blooming and what the plant looks like as well as changes in leaf color are good indicators of an upcoming change. 

I think one of my favorite ways to tell that fall is coming is to watch the insects. First you start hearing crickets. Just one or two at first then by mid-August there is a chorus so loud at night it can be deafening. You can feel the rhythm of their chirping in your bones. I love that. As the temps cool down the chirping becomes less strident. 

Even if the weather hadn't changed so drastically, the big indicator that September is turning us toward fall is the behavior of the insects. 

Dragonflies start perching on the highest point they can find. It is wonderful to see how many colors dragonflies come in. 

The little guys you would see in July

are full-grown by September.

The wasps get very busy in September. We have many grass-carrying wasps. They fill any available hole such as hose ends or sprinklers with grass then add a paralyzed bug and lay an egg. Then they add another layer and another. 

Other wasps just paralyze some food, poke it in a hole and lay an egg on it. They don't worry about building a nest first. 

They carry prey larger than they are. This little wasp is about a half inch long. 


We also have mud-dauber wasps.  In the fall they build fortifications for their eggs out of mud that dry as hard as concrete. 

This is the time of year when you start noticing the big orb webs accompanied by the large builders. 

So many little indicators that the season is about to change. While fall is certainly on its way, we do not yet have that crisp scent in the air. But it is coming.