 *** WHIFF OF FALL? *** |
*** WHIFF OF FALL? *** |
Monday, August 18, 2008~ WHIFF OF FALL? ~ It
is starting to feel and smell like fall in the interior of Alaska. It
happens so quickly.
Summer one
day, Fall the
next and a couple days later it is Winter. Very fast! Very beautiful!
So I will be devoting the next few posts on some of the interesting things about the Fall Season or what some call the Hunting Season. Early Morning
Temperatures Dropping!
First
sign of Fall...Chilly mornings. It has
actually been really damp
and cold all summer. It has been a while since we have had
a summer
this wet. I think we beat the record high in precipitation this
year...
But I digress... Usually you can tell the weather is going to change here, by the ultra cool mornings. Frost is on the ground in a lot of places. I have included a photo of a exterior thermometer so I could show my readers the temps the past few mornings. Low
Bush Cranberries (Orange Color-Dogwood Berries)
Photo by K. Fields
We
have to wait for the
first frost before we can pick the Low-bush
Cranberries, because the frost helps
them to ripen. We have already had
a couple of light frosts, and the berries are ripening.
We use the Low-bush cranberries as just eating right from the plant, or for making relishes, and they taste awesome in muffins and pancakes. I mentioned the smell of fall, when you walk into the wooded areas where I live, you can actually smell the ripened cranberries. A heavy pungent order! High
Bush Cranberries
The
High-bush cranberries are ripe
and ready to pick, they started
ripening up last week. They are bright
red in color, transluent,
juicy, and have small seeds. They are edible and can be very sour,
when
eaten raw. We can use the high-bush cranberries to make
juice, syrups, and jellies.
Rose
Hip Berries
Photo by K. Fields
The
Rosehip berries are ready to
pick also, they are loaded with
natural vitamin C, And they grow wild
all over the place in the
interior. They are edible, slightly sweet, not very juicy unless
overripe. Great
dried and crushed, and used in teas, and as topping
in
salads, soups, and some also make rosehip jelly.
Tho I prefer them
mixed with other wild berries in jelly making.
Lone
Yellow Leafed Branch
The leaves
are subtly changing, they are still
pretty green for
the most part, but a lot of the trees are in
varies
shades of
light green and greenish-yellows, so the wooded areas are varying in
shades of greens with some bright yellow twigs of leaves scattered here
and there.
Lone
Yellow Leafed Tree
Now
and then
we come across
a small tree that has
completely changed over to yellow leaves. The
colors can be
breathtaking
against the naturally dark black spruce trees.
Plus the Fireweed and High-bush Cranberry bushes have bright red leaves now. Uh
oh! Blossom Topped Fireweed
Another
sure sign that Fall is here is the Fireweed
which grows all over Alaska. It is tall stalks
of pinkish purple
flowers that
blossom from about
halfway up the stalk and then gradually reach
the top. It has
been said that when the Fireweed blossoms are at the top,
then we
should have our first snow dusting in 2 weeks. The interesting thing
is...that sign...is usually right.
Hay
Fields Ready
The
last sign for this post is a
really common Fall sign is the rolls of hay on
the farms in the area. If you look closely, because they are
a little hard to see,
but you
can make out a herd of caribou grazing in the field too. Not your
typical farm field photo! Except in Alaska!
See also: A Glimpse of Autumn! Later...
K Fields
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