Autumn is the season of slow preparation. Before the first deep freeze, we traipse around the garden and gather armloads of ruby flushed tomatoes, thick-skinned butternut squash, and dried popcorn in papery leaves. Months before, this bounty was mere seeds, but the summer sun, evening storms, and rich soil cradled each seed through its development into a plant that produces delectably fleshy fruit.
During the autumnal equinox, our Earth briefly settles into a nearly equal balance of light and dark before the Northern Hemisphere gently eases into days with fewer hours of sunlight with steady darkness beckoning us inside to our artificial lights earlier and earlier each evening. The term equinox is derived from the Latin language meaning “equal night.” The Earth, however, has never claimed to be perfect, and several minutes of difference prevent a complete equilibrium. Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt allows this shift from season to season as the Northern Hemisphere faces the sun’s direct rays in the early months of the year while the Southern Hemisphere is cast in shadow.
These patterns of sunlight and shadow transition as the year passes, and as the Northern Hemisphere bundles up for winter, the southern hemisphere is simultaneously welcoming the first signs of spring during their vernal equinox. Nature often works in these balanced systems, so even as we are preparing for dormancy, elsewhere life is emerging.
Like other animals, American black bears (Ursus Americanus) are influenced by the shifting seasons in the natural habitats around them. As summer draws to a close, black bears in Wisconsin and the rest of the Great Lakes Region may move from open forests and stands of black cherry (Prunus serotina) to mature oak (Quercus sp.) stands in search of more substantive food and shelter for the upcoming winter. Black bears feast particularly well during oak tree mast years, when these trees periodically produce a bumper crop of acorns. Although black bears are omnivores and eat both plants and other animals, the bulk of their diet comes from plants, berries, and nuts. Acorns and other nuts tend to dominate their diet in autumn as they prepare for hibernation.
In northern latitudes, American black bears will settle down in a den to hibernate for the next several months. Prime real estate for these dens is often located in tree cavities or hollow logs, but some bears will settle for rock crevices or slash piles depending on what is available. It sounds a bit drafty, especially in Wisconsin’s chilly winters, but the black bears have prepared a nice layer of fat and fur with an insulation value that can double during the winter. At this point, things really begin to slow down. Their metabolism rates ease up and their heart rate begins a steady decline until, by December when black bears are in a deep hibernation state, their sleeping rate can be as low as eight beats a minute.
We may not be hibernating (in fact, migration may be a better analogy for the snowbirds heading down to Arizona or Texas to avoid Wisconsin’s winters), but like American black bears, humans are also influenced by this shifting of seasons. As the autumn season arrives we pull wool sweaters out of the back of our closets to add an extra layer of insulation to our bodies. Our homes become our den as we shut the windows tight and curl up in cozy heat.
We deposit our armloads of bountiful yields from the garden onto our kitchen table. The hot water bubbles in a large pot on the stove where jars of wild grape juice are settling into thick, sweet jelly. Autumn is the season of preparation: our food will be canned, dried, and stored and will nourish us months from now, even when the next transition comes, bringing heavy blankets of winter snow.
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