Where are the woolly bears?

As SiSi, my part yellow lab rescue dog, and I returned from our mid-day constitutional, we saw a small garter snake moving along the township road. At least I saw it. SiSi didn't seem to be in the least interested. Sometimes I think she lives in her  own universe. Other  times I'm sure of it, but it's nice when she  comes to visit us in ours.  Anyhow, today's garter snake is the first and only snake we've seen all year, I believe. That may  well help explain what appears to be a current abundance of pocket gophers and moles tearing the yard apart and leaving mounds of dirt everywhere.

an October woolly bear caterpillar

Photo by J. Harrington

At least as disappointing as the lack of snakes, especially gopher snakes, is this autumn's failure, so far, to produce any woolly bear caterpillars. Most years by this time we've seen at least one or two and been able to estimate, based on how wide the reddish-brown middle band is, how severe our upcoming winter might be. Unfortunately, the National Weather Service informs us that the winter prediction folklore is not supported by any kind of scientific analyses. That doesn't make the caterpillar's ability to freeze solid during the winter and then resume life after spring thaw any less impressive. Perhaps the caterpillars are still wearing their feedbags and haven't yet started to look for overwintering shelters and that's why we've not seen any. We'll keep our eyes open for the various critters making local or long distance migrations in preparation for our North Country winter and report back on our findings, if there are any.

I think it was yesterday that the local office of the National Weather Service decided, based on widespread overnight low temperatures in the twenties, that this year's growing season is over. We say a number of local farmers harvesting soy beans yesterday. We still have a few weeks of this autumn's Community Supported Agriculture [CSA] shares to go and then this year's harvest season, at least for many of us, will be done. We'll take a look and talk with the Better Half about joining a winter CSA, as we did several years ago. We're starting to think there may be something to this fresh, wholesome, local food, even if most of it is veggies.

Moths

By Caleb Klaces

A translator who has a phobia of moths

spent three years translating a book with a moth motif.

It’s ironic, she has said, that she knew more about the moths

than the author of the original, who was merely fascinated.

The translation contained a greater variety of moths than the original,

drawn from suggestions she had made, some of which were in fact

too perfect and changed back before it went to print.

Her moths, the ones that were too aptly named,

meant too much, her moths that she hated, where are they now?

The same place as all the versions of people

that have been undressed and slept with, in lieu of the people

themselves, by others. That must include a version

of almost everyone, lots of versions of some people,

some only a flutter, animated then decided against.

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