The weather has been remarkably warm and looks like that will continue this week but there are worrying signs that this winter may be a bad one.
First off the animals are eating EVERYTHING! Last year the deer hit my plants pretty hard, especially the hostas which are called "deer candy" around here. This year it's the squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, bear and the deer that are eating everyone's gardens. They have even defeated most of my cages which I put around everything. Even my thorny rosebushes have been sampled.
Second, the hummingbirds have departed earlier than usual. Last year they were still feeding well into October. This year they disappeared about 2 weeks ago. We also had our first siting of snowbirds yesterday.
The elk are also kicking up a ruckus, bugling all night. We know all this happens every year but even the old timers are getting concerned.
The Farmer's Almanac says our area will be cold and snowy which is one of those obvious predictions. We want to know...How cold?...How snowy? I guess only time will tell.
