Change of Season

by Ruth Ann Angus

Where was summer? It never got here, at least not in Morro Bay. Today was the 185th gray day and you can count on one hand the days the temperature got over 60 degrees. Yes, it was those few days in September when the thermometer at my house read 103 degrees, but that was the first week of fall. Where was summer?

No matter, here we are fully into the fall season and many of us crave the sight of leaves turning russet and yellow. To find some you might try a drive on the back roads in North County.

One of the first plants to turn is also one of the most lethal, poison oak. I can guarantee that if you see some beautiful red leaves on a low growing shrub, it is probably poison oak. So admire it from a distance, take pictures, but don't touch it!

Roadside shrubs are turning lovely shades right now and wine grapevines are heading that way too. There is even some fall color here in Morro Bay. I watch the change every year out in the estuary when the pickleweed goes from green to reddish-orange.

Fall is distinguished by color. In farmers' fields colorful pumpkins grow on snaking vines, bright red and yellow apples are ripening on the trees, and yellow and orange marigolds are everywhere. With Thanksgiving on the way our thoughts naturally turn to pumpkins and turkeys.

Did you know that the pumpkin is not a vegetable? Just like tomatoes, pumpkins are fruits. In colonial times pumpkin was included in the ingredients for piecrusts, not for the filling. The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. One wonders what size oven was used to cook it. Nowadays bigness is popular when it comes to pumpkins and there are contests and festivals to celebrate the largest pumpkin. You might think you can get double duty out of the jack-o-lantern pumpkin you bought for Halloween, but don't waste your time using the scooped out contents. Those are not pumpkins grown for pie making and you will probably be disappointed in the results.

Wild turkeys strut around and peck away for food in many places in our county. Often there is a group of them feeding on the Morro Bay golf course lawns. Most wild turkeys are fairly safe these days and not too many end up on the Thanksgiving Day table, but early settlers in this country nearly wiped them out. Once the Native Americans introduced turkeys to the newcomers, they became a major food source. The birds that grace our tables now are domestic birds raised specifically for consumption. They are bred to have large breasts and some birds can barely walk around due to this. But no one can deny that they are a tasty treat!

Fall brings a change in the weather. For those living inland it is a relief from the oppressive heat and on the coast it often brings spectacular, clear, crisp days. Early rainstorms come along that produce clouds that sometimes contribute to brilliant sunsets.

We missed summer this year on the coast, but now that it is fall we can curl up in a comfy armchair by the fire as the days get shorter and the air gets cooler, welcoming this change of season once again.