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Poor Will's Almanack: July 2 - 9

coneflowers in a close cropped shot

DeepsSummer has so many paths and twists and turns that it is easy to get lost in its endless litany of plants and insects and birds.

Take a walk with me and see what I mean.

There is Sycamore bark dropping season — that fits right in with the moon — but there is also purple coneflower season and Queen Anne's lace season.

You see how you could easily lose your way because the is pokeweed season and St John's wort season and touch-me-not season, and the seasons go on and on. There are so many ways to get lost since the litany continues with phlox season and milkweed season and butterfly season, and then there are the night time seasons, and the cricket season, and the crickets get louder and louder as cicada season crowns the daytime cricket songs at dawn with calls with the chant that complements the night time chorus.

Bill Felker has been writing nature columns and almanacs for regional and national publications since 1984. His Poor Will’s Almanack has appeared as an annual publication since 2003. His organization of weather patterns and phenology (what happens when in nature) offers a unique structure for understanding the repeating rhythms of the year.