Isaac's rains have spawned a September spring across central Missouri as dry, brown lawns and drooping vegetation have been reinvigorated by the abundant moisture. Greenery is returning to the parched landscape, birds seem energized by the cool, damp weather and the winter-like death grip of our intense summer heat has, for now, been broken.
Indeed, deprived of moisture and wilted by the unrelenting sun, the vegetation of our State, while not completely decimated, had entered a state of estivation, dropping leaves and fruit to retain water in more vital tissues of the stems and roots. Creeks and ponds, normally teeming with life during the verdant days of summer, had given way to dry, rocky beds and cracked mudflats, depriving many insects, tadpoles and fish of crucial spawning and maturation habitat and, in turn, upsetting the food chain for primary and secondary consumers. How the dry, stressed vegetation affected populations of resident herbivores and their predators remains to be seen.
Of course, the brutal summer had an impact on humans as well, causing many to retreat to air-conditioned shelters for weeks at a time. With no grass to cut or shrubs to trim, yard work was confined to watering gardens and removing dead vegetation. Few cared to visit parks or nature preserves in the intense heat, especially since the parched landscape had little appeal and the wild residents were inconspicuous, having escaped to cool, secluded woodlands. Now, thanks to Isaac, we, like the plants and wildlife, are revived by the September spring, determined to relish the great outdoors before winter arrives to suppress nature's bounty once again.
