How dramatically the seasons can change! The seasons do change in Florida, but more subtlety and are discerned better perhaps by local eyes than by tourists or part-time residents. What marks the arrival of Central Florida’s Fall?

The temperatures start to cool down a bit, high in the 70s, lows in the 50s this month, although October was above average this year.

The wet, tropical summer pattern is being replaced by our “dry season” which lasts until late Winter. (In honor of this change, residents can water lawns only once per week now, instead of twice per week.)

The ocean is getting colder and Northeast winds can make that morning or evening stroll on the beach seem a lot less inviting.
We still track hurricanes in October and November, but the peak of hurricane season is traditionally in the months of August and September. (As I write this, however, Hurricane Ida is “out there” and may produce some wet weather next week.)

Fall migration brings not only birds in their non-breeding plumage to Central Florida but also birders – ecotourists! The State’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has established a program called the Great Florida Birding Trail, with 489 sites in Florida, 135 of which are in the Eastern section where I live. I hope to visit several of these over the next several months!

But what about Florida’s Fall Foliage? I have been noticing some changes. My lawn is browner as it slips into dormancy. Have a nice sleep, grass plants and summer weeds! See you next Spring!

Some grass finds itself harvested and rolled up in hay bales.

Fall blooming flowers add color to the landscape. For example, I see yellow flowers and red or yellow leaves on shrubs and trees where I did not see them before. A quick perusal of the Internet shows that many plants, both native and horticultural, add splashes of color to the Fall landscape here.

But the true measure of Fall anywhere may be the decreasing hours of sunlight each day. After all, changes in the amount and intensity of sunlight are what drive seasons in both hemispheres. This is compounded by the fact that daylight savings time ended here on November 1, and night falls much “earlier.”

No worries! Fall festivals abound, the night will soon be lit up by cheery December decorations, and I need to practice my night photography anyway.

Hope to get some fun shots at the Volusia County Fair this week– the animals, the fall produce, and, of course, the gaudy midway lights after dark.

Stay tuned. Lyn

I enjoy sitting with others around a campfire or in front of a fireplace mesmerized by the darting, teasing tongues of fire, the changing colors, and cozy glow.

A fire’s warmth and beauty can enchant and sustain us, especially on a cold winter day. How romantic it is to snuggle with a loved one in front of the fire! The blazing Yule log brings good cheer to our December Holidays.

But fire has another face, ugly and terrifying. How often do we turn on the news to hear about a fire’s wanton path of destruction, consuming homes or acres of vegetation without mercy for the life that is imperiled or too often lost?

It is no wonder then that humans seek to prevent or control fires and have a history of doing so. I grew up with Smokey the Bear’s friendly (but also stern) face saying, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”

He pointed and looked right at me! I was sure that I would wind up as Smokey the Bear food if I ever played with matches or left a smoldering campfire unattended.

While Smokey still delivers his valuable message, fire ecologists now tell us that fire prevention is not the whole story. In fact, many ecosystems need fire. The absence of periodic, small fires may lead to bigger, hotter fires, and unhealthy ecosystems. This is a quite a paradigm shift.

Now, ecosystem management may include the use of fire as a tool. This is sometimes called controlled burning, but a better term is prescribed burning since fire acts as a prescription for maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. (See article: Benefits of Prescribed Burning, by Alan J. Long, written for the University of Florida, IFAS Extension.)

On February 07, returning home from a field trip with the South East Volusia Camera Club, we spotted billowing, gray smoke not too far from our destination and took a side trip to see what was going on. We found a prescribed burn in progress to clear underbrush in a densely forested area in the Oak Hill area, Volusia County, Florida.

Since the fire was close to the roads and did not seem too intense, we left the relative safety of the car to take pictures, some of which I share with you here.

Although this fire seemed mellow, (or dare I say controlled?), when we saw it, these pictures reveal to me a perhaps more sinister face, as if to whisper, _________. Well, I will let you fill in the rest, Lyn