Winter Is Nigh

Snoqualmie Pass in the Washington State Cascades is 3022 feet altitude and September 22, 2008, the temperature was 46 degrees F. To me that speaks of a fall temperature. The peaks to the west of the pass were snow covered. To me that speaks of the onset of winter. Interstate 90 was still wet from an earlier precipitation but the pavement was dry.
I left Bellingham at 11:00 with a full tank of gas and had a pleasant drive – I-5 was a bit busy and so was I-405. There was very little fall color in the leaves of trees or bushes except for some obvious maple trees in rows at a nursery. After I got over the pass, which is the lowest pass over the Cascades in the state of Washington, it was all downhill, and to make things even better, a brisk tailwind blew me the next three hours into Richland.
From Ellensburg over Umtanum ridge and the remainder of miles into Richland, the hillsides and ditches were colorful with rabbitbrush, both the green and gray varieties. Bright yellow blooms are cheery and bright. The difference between the blossoms of two types of brush is not easily noticed but the stems of the plants are different – gray stems on the gray variety, green appearance on the other. Sagebrush is also in bloom but the blossoms are so tiny that they do not show any color at a distance. Only a pinhead flower close up.
Apples and other fruit are ready to harvest. Interesting how some orchardists are training the fruit trees as espalier, to support the fruit laden branches, I suppose. Or make picking easier, maybe by machine. Orchards are being replaced with grapes, of all things. Foreign fruit is cheaper, especially apples, which pack well for long distances. Although we never know what pesticides, or pests for that matter, will hitchhike on the imports. Still the freeway is well traveled with long trailers of fruit going to market. I saw trucks from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Georgia and they do not keep to the speed limit either.
I enjoy the art that is put up on the over passes in towns. Yakima, the Palm Springs of Washington state, has Old Sol in metal on one overpass. Very nice sculpture. Others put salmon where appropriate and they show a lovely flow like water. Anyway I enjoy driving and thinking on those in passing cars – what are other travelers up to? Going home like me? Or off to exotic places?
Nevertheless my fellow travelers show no signs that the approaching winter is affecting them. Even very few birds show signs of impending chill. Maybe the birds that are going south are already gone. Never fear - English sparrows, pigeons, and crows will hang around to keep us company. The high body temperature of birds heats them in cold weather. Lack of food is what kills them or hunger insists they fly until they find some.
Winter will affect my driving. I will stay home so as not to be subjected to snow. The winter scenes are to enjoyed on holiday cards and travel brochures. Or somehow let others do the driving for me.
Naomi Sherer