Everything is Confused this Fall

There is a monarch transforming inside

At the very end of September I spotted a monarch chrysalis attached to our bulkhead. I have now seen all three stages of this butterfly in our yard this year, starting with a gorgeous caterpillar

in July (see July 4th post). Then in August an adult was sipping nectar in the garden (see August 29th post.)

I was certainly not expecting to find a chrysalis during this time of year and I was worried that it would freeze before it had a chance to transform. In fact, a few days later it got very dark and I thought that maybe it had died, but it was actually the butterfly developing inside because on October 5th, this is all that was left -

Empty Monarch cocoon

I am happy that the butterfly emerged, but I wonder if it was too late in the year for it to survive the long migration to Mexico. With the frequency and severity of hurricanes this year, perhaps it was a good thing that this butterfly got a late start.

Now, three weeks later, we have yet to experience cool days and cold nights that are typical of Autumn. In fact, this past weekend both days were over seventy degrees. We have only had two mild frosts so far. Both required me to scrape my car windows, but neither killed my tomato or basil plants. This has been a very strange fall indeed. Although the shorter days signal to the plants and animals that summer has ended, at night the crickets are still chirping and the moths are still flying around the outdoor lamps. It definitely feels more like early September than late October.

The plants in the yard are confused too. This is the first year that I remember Lavender plants having a second bloom cycle.

Lavender blooming October 22nd

And even stranger than that are yellow flowers on a Forsythia bush.

The color of the leaves indicate that summer is over, but why is this Forsythia blooming in October?

I don't have to type the words "Climate Change" to make the point that the seasons are not what they used to be. Nature is responding and as pleasant as this warm weather may seem, the long-term consequences may not be.