Jack's Autumn Diary

23 May '07 2:10 pm

Hi, Jack-

Another great batch of pix! I especially liked the 2 showing the woods in autumn. They look rather like the woods here when I go mushroom-picking in autumn. Every year, many, many folks here go out looking for Chanterelles and Pine Mushrooms, which are both common here. Many people pick them commercially, and they are shipped all over the world by air freight. Mostly to France, for the Chanterelles, and to Japan, for the Pine Mushrooms

Do you have edible wild mushrooms in S.A.? I've often wondered whether or not places like S.A., Australia and New Zealand have them.

I really envy you your cabin by the lake there - it looks so cozy and quiet!

Cheers!

gordonf

25 May '07 7:13 am

Hi again! We've had some dramatically cold weather, and only the vestiges of autumn remain - but I did wish there was time for a photo session before leaving for work this morning as the frost was spectacular...

However my humble opinion is that these taken yesterday morning are none too shabby.

Gordon, you ask about mushrooms. Chantarelles are listed in my SA book, pine mushrooms not. The only one of the many edible varieties I have the confidence to pick is Boletus edulis, exactly the same mushroom so beloved by the Romans! I have always wanted to learn more. There is for instance a huge mushroom, much sought after on the farm, that can feed a family. I had it once but was most unimpressed.

25 May '07 12:40 pm

Eek! Winter has struck! Wonder why some of us are heading north soon? Hee hee.

25 May '07 1:18 pm

Jack,

Once again, I loved the latest pictures from your farm. Autumn means so much to me, having grown up in Quebec, which has really quite a frightful winter! Although with global warming, it is not nearly as severe as it used to be when I was a kid.

Here in southwestern BC, we officially have only 3 seasons, according to the federal meteorological service. They are Spring, Summer and Autumn. Autumn lasts from about October through to late February or early March, followed by Spring until about now (it has FINALLY warmed up) with a temperature in my garden of about 28 degrees celsius. Apparently, you must have so many days in a row of such-and-such a low temperature in order to call it "Winter", and we don't get enough of them in a row! We DO get very cold outbreaks, though, but they're not long-lived.

Also, throughout most of Canada, Autumn is the season when the troublesome insects like mosquitoes and black flies have died in the overnight frosts, so venturing into the bush suddenly becomes really pleasant!

So, I really like to see Autumn pictures; they bring to mind the smell of leaf bonfires and freshly-tilled soil as well as that indescribable odour of moist soil and dead leaves that carpet the forest floor. I love Autumn!!

Cheers!

gordonf

25 May '07 7:12 pm

Jack,

I just read in one of my online newspapers (from Australia) the article following this headline: At Least 13 Dead In South African Cold Snap. It talks about roads being blocked by snow through the Eastern Cape area. What's happening there? Is that anywhere near where you are? Who ever heard of snow in South Africa, at least down where people live??

Hoping all is well,

gordonf

26 May '07 6:30 am

I have not heard the latest news from SA -I hope you and your loved ones sre safe,Jack.
About Canada -I have a beautiful film set in NZ and Canada about the Canada geese migrating.'Fly away Home'.Flying over the Canadian Autumn landscape is absolutely breathtaking in its colours of Autumn -that is how I perceive Canada.
Dixie.

26 May '07 7:40 am

I have not seen/heard TV news during the last week, I do not like to read newspapers any more (after certain Greek Ellections and Irac War in the past...), so , what is really happening down there , Jack???

26 May '07 5:49 pm

Hi, Dixie;

Yes, that movie IS a wonderful one, isn't it? And that indeed is what it looks like in Autumn, at least east of the Rockies. Here, well west of all the mountains, it stays somewhat greener, although the many yellows and golds stand out against the evergreens, so it also is lovely in its own way.

When I think of your area, I tend to visualize the springtime, with the many native trees and shrubs in bloom. I guess I get that from a very old movie about L'il Abner, the (ancient Rolling Eyes

) comic book character!

I guess it all goes to prove that no matter where one lives, it has its beautiful times!

Cheers!

gordonf

26 May '07 6:01 pm

O Dear ,I remember the comic book of Li'l Abner -does that make me ancient too?
Jack-your photos are magic.Somehow I never thought of taking frosty pictures but perhaps I might this winter.We don't have snow in the Waikato area where I live..(Moosey does)
Dixie

26 May '07 8:56 pm

Hallo all and thanks for the concerns and the compliments. We had no more than a severe cold snap, but parts of SA had extreme weather. Cold fronts usually pass across the southern half of the country, bringing snow to high altitudes, and the north has secondary effects due to the could Southerly winds. Passes in the Eastern Cape, 1000km due south, are often closed for a few days in winter – I don’t think such things as snow ploughs exist here! But the effects of this front were so severe that winter potatoes 150km northwest from here and vegetables 150 km west were destroyed in record lows, dropping to -4 in places. Subzero temperatures are unheard of there. We are used to lows on Sequoia, but it is generally a rolling cold down the valley, and we were protected by the mountains to the south and our own topography from the worst of the Southerlies. As for snow on the farm – twice over the years it has been reported in the area, melting almost on impact. Johanesburg, 400km south, last had real snow in 1981.

What was unusual was the high frost to the tops of the trees below the dam wall, seen in my ‘Cold Swirl’ photo, unlike anything I’ve ever noticed before. An aloe which manages to flower well most years has lost all but three or four heads, and things like rose geranium and the lemon tree are frost damaged, which happens seldom. So it was a baddy, but not nearly as much as in some usually warmer areas. And I always celebrate the killing of overwintering pests that such a cold snap brings.

Most of our real weather occurs mid-May to early June and in August. The actual winter is weatherless – cold nights, calm sunny days. Average lows are around zero on the farm, dropping to -6 or -7 in extreme cases, and days are around 14-20 degrees. I remember a winter some 20 years ago when twice for several days daytime max. did not exceed 9 degrees in Johannesburg. We thought the end of the world had come! South African houses are NOT thermally efficient…

I could only smile at your remark, Gordon, that there is no winter on Vancouver Island. We South Africans can not begin to imagine life below zero, and a Canadian winter is simply beyond our understanding – but I guess we too would be classified as ‘winterless’ in Canada! As for autumn, it is one of my dreams to still see Canada and the Northwest of the USA in autumn (fall!)

On checking my pics I realise that I have skipped two, both taken on Monday before the real cold hit. The first was taken as you turn onto my drive, with the end of the Long Border in the foreground, looking towards the Makoudam, my parents’ dam. The cinnamon coloured trees are Swamp Cypresses and the silver ones Black Poplers. The other is a close-up of a delightful bulb which liked garden conditions enough to flower a second time for me.

By the way, Gordon, I think I’ve finally managed to figure what you mean by a ‘dam’: we would call it the ‘dam wall’, behind which the dam lies. Your dam with a lake behind it sounds to me like some weird tandemy thing!

Jack's Autumn Diary

Into the Woods . . .

Mushrooms and cold weather

Winter Blows His Frosty Breath!

Severe Cold in S.A.

Hope you are safe

Snow in S. Africa?????

"Fly Away Home"

L'il Abner

Winter cold