More Frosty Mornings
This autumn has certainly been an interesting one as far as weather goes! Our first frost came rather late and last week we seemed to have had an “Indian Summer” with temperatures in the 60’s and even low 70’s…quite toasty for early November! While winter is still a little ways out, it will be interesting to see how El Niño continues to influence our weather patterns here in the Northeast. This week seems to be back to normal average temperatures, giving us freezing overnight lows and frosty mornings, but next week is forecasted to be warm once again. No matter...
Read MoreFall Fun Facts
Have you ever noticed how some deciduous trees retain their leaves while others around them are bare? I learned some interesting facts the other day about why that might be. Trees such as this gorgeous oak tree may retain their leaves once they die, referred to as marcescence, for a number of possible reasons. For one, retaining dried up, brown leaves could help protect the oak’s acorns or buds from bitter frost. It could also protect the growing buds from getting nipped by whitetail deer early in the spring. In addition, I’ve heard that for saplings it could be important to...
Read MoreGrowing Season
Have you ever wondered why the Lake Erie plain is loaded with grapes? Being that Lake Erie is shallow and lower in volume compared to the other Great Lakes, it frequently reaches freezing temperatures and glazes over with ice each winter. As the spring thaw progresses and temperatures rise, the gradually warming lake acts as a refrigerator on the adjacent plain. Cool air rushing off the lake surface keeps grape buds from opening before the danger of killing frost has passed. As fall approaches, the lake is at a balmy 73 degrees, on average from sunny summer days, and keeps the plain warm...
Read MoreFall Foliage
These autumn mornings may be starting out too frigid and frosty for mid-October, but as the midday sun rises in the sky to light up our fall foliage everything turns into a scorching fire.
Read MoreMorning Frost
Typically autumn is a time of color, warm apple cider and cool crisp air that brings much enjoyment across the region. While we have had lots of vibrant color, and speaking for myself lots of cider, its been missing the cool crisp air…until now. Thanks to the weekend’s passing cold front, the area got its first hard frost of the season. A little later than normal, the frost coated the landscape this morning and made a pretty scene in our front yard and gardens. What did your yard look like this morning?
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