What's blooming? Use your nose to find September's flowers. Hairy sunflower is one of the most common sunflower species found at Oxley Nature Center and at Redbud Valley; its nickname is "chocolate-scented sunflower." The fragrance of autumn jasmine's white flowers is overwhelming when you walk among large masses of blooming jasmine vines. And if you have allergies to ragweed's airborne pollen, your nose will tell you that its drab green, pollen-shaker shaped flowers have opened.
In general, if a plant has invested resources in producing nectar, fragrance, and showy blossoms in order to bribe an insect or bird to carry its pollen, that plant's pollen is not going to be in your nose making you sneeze unless you poke the flower up your nose. The insect-pollinated plants usually have pollen too heavy to float in the air.
Goldenrod is flowering now, too, since it blooms in the same places, at the same time as ragweed. Come "Meet Goldenrod" Saturday, September 28, 10-11:30 am (reservations required- see Newsletter for details.) The butterflies are delighted that the native thistles are at last in bloom. Even though it's still possible to find summer flowers like ironweed still in bloom, the new nectar source is much more popular.

 

Prairie Report:  The moist conditions at Oxley Nature Center's Meadowlark Prairie have allowed the big bluestem, switch grass, and indian grass to reach well over six or seven feet tall in many places.
September is a perfect time to visit prairies; not only are the grasses especially showy, but the showy fall forbs like blazing star and blue sage are beginning to bloom.

Forests and fall foliage report: Persimmons (contrary to popular belief) could become ripe this month! If the fruit is soft and squashy and falls off into your hand, it's probably ripe. If you have to tug at it, you don't want to eat it (although everyone ought to experience the taste of a green persimmon once!) Here and there, a few branches or vines are showing gold and scarlet foliage. In general, though, September is when we hope that trees get enough rain to have leaves at leaf-turning time, and to be in good shape to produce the pigments and other plant chemistry required for good fall colors in late October and all through November.

 

Butterflies: It's time to start watching for migrating butterflies, like Monarchs, Buckeyes, American Ladies, and Painted Ladies. There has been a late summer hatch of Orange Sulphurs, Clouded Sulphurs, and Dainty Sulphurs. Large, lemon-yellow Cloudless Sulphurs are also more numerous than they have been all summer. Keep an eye out for caterpillars and chrysalids.

Other insects and invertebrates: The West Nile Virus is in the news, having reached Tulsa, and so are mosquitoes, because certain species can carry the virus. The North American Butterfly Association has posted a clearly written information page on West Nile virus on their website.

 

	This is a good time to remember that mosquitoes have many natural enemies, like dragonflies. Another set of allies are spiders. September is the prime time for the orb-weavers. Orb-weaver spiders come in an astonishing variety of shapes and colors.
It wouldn't be late summer without insect songs...
The cicadas (pronounced "sick kay' dahs"), are coming to the end of their adult lifespans. Look for twigs with lines of holes exploded outward through the bark, where cicada eggs have hatched and the larvae have emerged. The larvae burrow underground to feast on roots. Next summer, the grubs of the annual cicada species will emerge and change to adults, to sing again. Some other species of cicadas remain underground as grubs for 3, 13, or 17 years.		The katydids are still calling at night, but they have been joined by a variety of crickets and grasshoppers. Some of the loudest night-time singers are the conehead grasshoppers. Listen carefully to all the insect songs. Since insects are cold-blooded, they are more revved up when it's hot, and sing more slowly and at a lower pitch when the temperature is cooler.

Herps: It is baby lizard time! The bright blue tails on the juvenile lizards of many species attract attention away from their more important body and head. You may find many lizards re-growing a tail that was lost to a predator.

 

Mammals: Young whitetail bucks with their first spike antlers have already been seen clattering their heads together in practice. Bucks with larger racks are still carefully guarding their velvet-covered antlers from nicks and bruises that would affect the swiftly growing material. The does and fawns are looking gray in patches as their new winter coats begin to grow in, replacing the reddish-brown summer coats of hair.

Sky: September's New Moon (10:10 pm on the 6th) will disappear into the Sun's glare for more than a day as it passes between the Earth and the Sun. Watch the western sky just after sunset: can you find the new little crescent moon on Sept. 7th? (very difficult!), on the 8th? (still very thin and close to where the Sun set), or the 9th? The Harvest Moon (full at 8:59 am) will rise on Sept. 21st at 7:42 pm. Fall arrives on September 22nd, when the Autumn Equinox occurs at 11:55 pm.

In September you can buy your sky-watching guides, calendars, almanacs for the year 2003. Astronomy Magazine's "Explore the Universe 9th Edition 2003" and Sky and Telescope's "Skywatch '03: Your Annual Guide to the Night Sky" are already on sale in bookstores. "The Old Farmer's 2003 Almanac" by Robert D. Thomas will reach stores soon.