Summer’s End?

 

Let me introduce you to the aster. It’s a pretty little flower that has the nickname “last flower of the summer.” According to mountain lore, summer will end in 6 weeks after the asters bloom. I’ve lived in the mountains for over 20 years and I watch for asters. I’ve discovered that for this area of the mountains, there are about two and a half months of summer after the first bloom.  This year I saw the first asters on the 15th of June, before summer officially started. Normally they come out about the 4th of July. 

This picture was taken at 7:45 this morning. There are clouds on the valley floor and the grasses are wearing their autumn colors. The aspens are just starting to change. It’s the 28th of August and these colors have been around for about a week. Today it snowed in Jackson; the highway from Lamar Valley to Cooke City (in Yellowstone) was closed due to snow...winter is coming. 

PS...there was one more wildflower indicator of an early fall. This is a goldenrod, related to an aster. It normally blooms at the end of September. This year it started in mid-July and was done in 2 weeks. Do flowers predict the seasons? That’s for you to decide!