Our days become shorter and our nights longer as we greet the autumnal equinox on Sunday, Sept. 22. This is the first calendar day of fall, though we have already felt the change in the air. Mornings especially have a crisp coolness. Extra high tides at over six feet in the afternoon accompany the equinox.
One of the last shrubs to bloom, coyote brush, is now covered with small puffs of yellow fuzz. The female plants have a thin spike while the male plants have a round blossom. On warm days, the fragrance of the wind-pollinated flowers always reminds me of baby powder. This low-lying shrub populates Tomales Point and the Bear Valley area, along with many other areas.
Aside from scarlet poison oak leaves and golden big-leaf maples, fall colors include pumpkin-orange butterflies known as gulf fritillaries that often swarm the passionflower vines outside the West Marin Community Services Thrift Store. Just two fluttered by me on a recent day, though in years past we have seen many more.
Fall is a season of movement. The autumn migration sends many birds south to warmer climates where more insects are available, and soon the summer humpback whales will head to tropical waters. As we wait for the first rains to replenish local creeks, late summer’s limited water supplies have thirsty animals seeking new sources.