In our beautiful North Texas area, spring and summer have been very busy creating, inspiring, and providing. Flowers, shrubs, and trees have added excitement and brilliant colors, while their seasonal changes enhance our gardens and landscapes during these months.
There is enormous diversity in these changes here in North Texas. Some plants, shrubs, and trees produce the much-needed nectar our pollinators have so desperately needed for pollinating our fruit and vegetable gardens.
Additionally, certain butterfly species have selected specific plants to lay their eggs on so that their caterpillars can continue their life cycles, including the miraculous 3,000-mile migrations of the Monarch butterflies. I had the utmost pleasure when a swarm of Monarchs, several hundred, decided to visit my cosmos gardens for approximately two weeks during mid-October, the twenty-second of the month to be precise. When they finally departed for parts unknown, I wished them a happy, safe journey and will patiently await their return in the spring.
Do you find it interesting that our butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, which we have been enjoying for months, gradually depart our gently fading gardens and yards as summer slowly transitions to fall? Seasonal changes can be unpredictable. As fall approaches, we notice that some of our plants, shrubs, and trees have produced berries, nuts, and seeds for various birds and animals to harvest during the winter for their nutritional support as foraging becomes more difficult. I also definitely participate in the harvest of many types of seeds to replant.
We retire the hummingbird feeders until next year and transition to our numerous bird feeders for the large and smaller varieties we hope will visit. As this occurs, we herald the arrival of our fall friends of squirrels, various other animals, and varieties of birds such as the white winged doves, Mr. and Mrs. cardinal, sparrows, chickadees, and there are always some surprising, colorful fall/winter winged species that drop in to enjoy the festivities.
As the foliage of the trees changes to the extraordinary colors of fall, there is a stunning, dazzling, colorful tapestry of vibrant greens, reds, and yellows in the landscape. Gently, the leaves of the tall trees rain down upon the ground, heralding the time for them to rest. We will anticipate the shade they provide the animal families and us when they once again spring to life. Even as the leaves fall, they will be creating a winter habitat for many species that we perhaps can’t even see. It is certainly joyful to sit on the patio with a warm mug of coffee, watching the young squirrels dash through the trees looking for perfect locations to hide the precious nutrients that will nourish them through the winter. As I get “rained” upon by the leaves floating down, I sit in awe of the changes that occur naturally- thanking, observing, and feeling eternally grateful for the surprises of Mother Nature, as I anticipate the joy of the following seasons to arrive, while pondering the thought that it appears each season we pass through, gives us gifts to benefit and enrich our earth through the year.
