Summer is over

A jade plant I started from a cutting two years ago. In the winter, it lives under grow lights, but in the summer, it enjoys the fresh air and the rays of the sun. Tomorrow, it will have to come back indoors along with the *Echevarria*, *Sansevieria*, *Tradescantia*, and the epiphytic *Zygocactus*, *Hatiora*, and *Rhipsalidopsis* cactus.

We’ve had exceptionally warm weather for the last week, and even before that, the temperatures were just plain nice. But Sunday is the last day of temperatures in the 70s and 80’s. Yesterday it was 90 degrees in the shade. Tomorrow it will cool down to the 60s, and there is a chance of frost for three nights in a row.

After Monday, I will probably have to cut them down and store the tubers for the winter. The same is true for the tuberous begonias and the gladiolus. And all the houseplants I set out for their summer vacation will need to be brought back in.

A stalled high-pressure system is bringing the warm weather. Winds are from the south and gusting to 30 mph. The warm weather, while enjoyable and welcome so late in the year, is bringing problems to the already dry forests and fields. Even the wetlands are dry. Very dry.

Sunrise

Three insects added to my checklist this morning

**Big-leaf aster (*Eurybia macrophylla*) in bloom out in the woods.**

It is the first day of October, but it doesn’t feel like it. Our temperatures are in the high 70s, and the warm weather will continue at least until Sunday. So I decided to look for any flowers that might still be blooming on this unseasonably warm autumn day. Although there is not a profusion of flowers this far into autumn, some still can be found.

Two that are still in full bloom are showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) and trumpet weed (Eupatorium fistulosa). These two plants are always pollinator magnets, and today they were loaded with bumblebees, syrphid flies, and wasps.

While taking photos, I saw three insects that I had not recorded from here before: Pararchytas decisus (a tachinid fly), Sericomyia militaris (a syrphid fly), and Eumenes crucifera (a potter wasp).