Getting Ready

September 1, 2025

September 1st, the first day of Meteorological autumn and the Flowering Dogwoods (Cornus florida) have been preparing since the very end of June when their leaves began to take on a slight reddish hue. It’s been a slow journey since that time, color change creeping along. But now there are rich crimson berries just waiting for those leaves to turn on more of their color. For this tree it will provide a big year for birds that love to eat the berries. Flowering Dogwoods seem to alternate, one year a big berry season, the next not so much.

The weather has seemed like autumn for many days now. Most unusual for the end of August, but I’m certainly not complaining. Welcome autumn.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.