It is hard to believe, but Labor Day weekend is here. And while that means different things to different people — a three-day weekend, the coming of football season, cooking brats on the grill, schools opening — to almost everybody, it also means the unofficial ending of summer and start of early fall. Sept. 22 is the first official day of autumn, but to most of us, it all starts Labor Day weekend.
Not all that long ago, we were experiencing the hotter, humid days of summer, though actually, we have had things pretty good. This hasn’t been a brutally hot summer. Mornings have even been a bit chilly, and darned refreshing lately.
Like a breath of fresh air, autumn is drifting back into our area. Soon it will deliver our first white, frosty mornings. It will start painting the leaves on the trees with brilliant reds, oranges and yellows.
The longest days are gone now. Where not long ago we took in the birdfeeders as it was getting dark around 9:30 p.m., now that chore gets done closer to 8:15 p.m.
More seasonal changes are on the way. A number of familiar bird species will depart, no longer visiting our feeders or brightening our mornings with songs. Sleek, red deer will lose their summer coats. It will be replaced by darker, dense fur. The bucks have long been growing their velvet-covered head gear, and some are starting to become pretty impressive. Everywhere, things are about to change even more.
Red apples are starting to appear on the tree in the front yard, while out back a number of blackberry bushes and grape vines are producing tasty treats. A few roadside ditches are beginning to display brown ferns and underbrush. Grasses are turning yellow.
Area gardens have had a good growing season, with rain and temperatures not hot enough to burn them up. We are enjoying tomatoes, squash, sweet corn, green beans, potatoes and onions.
Plump pumpkins are growing well. In coming weeks, many will be carved into spooky Halloween faces, their eyes and smiles illuminated by flickering candles. Others will be turned into cookies, bars and pies.
Many folks are heading outdoors, revisiting those magical places that we enjoy so much during autumn days. We are hiking and riding bikes, ATVs and horses.
On foggy September mornings, you can hear shotgun blasts echo from the thick, grass-choked river bottoms, the dark forest trails and golden cornfields. The early goose season runs Sept. 1-15. Coming soon is Youth Waterfowl season, Northern Zone duck hunting, bear hunting, archery and crossbow deer seasons, ruffed grouse and turkey hunting and more.
Fishermen are visiting their favorite secret spots. On remote trout streams, they’ll be casting flies into crisp, dancing waters that tumble over the rocks and gurgle into pools where secretive rainbows hide.
It is Labor Day weekend. Much of the summer rush is ending as seasonal visitors return home. Yes, autumn is returning. This is Mother Nature’s finest hour, or at least the first few minutes of it.
It’s a fine time to slow down and enjoy the sound of Canada geese and sandhill cranes overhead, and the smell of wood smoke during suddenly foggy, chilly mornings. Pour a hot cup of coffee, fry up some eggs and bacon on an outdoor fire, sit back and take it all in. Northwestern Wisconsin’s frosty, colorful, glorious show is about to begin.
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