In early September, the fields and prairies of the Midwest are adorned with patches of purple and gold. Ironweed, blazing star and late thistles yield the purple highlights, while tickseed sunflowers and a variety of goldenrods create a bright background of gold. These late summer colors seem especially brilliant as the grasses fade to brown and the greens of the trees and shrubs begin to mellow. And though the sun is dropping southward and the days are waning, the drier air makes the light more intense and the brilliant wildflowers shimmer against a deep blue sky.
These harbingers of fall coincide with other changes on the grasslands. Red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves and eastern bluebirds are flocking once again and the shallow prairie ponds attract an increasing diversity of shorebirds. Within a few weeks, blue-winged teal will appear on the lakes and migrant songbirds will fill the woodlands. God's season is almost here.
