08/17/2026
We are pulling all of our honey boxes tomorrow to start preparing the bees for winter. Golden Rod has been in bloom for 2 weeks here now which seems earlier than usual.
There's an old farm clock blooming along your fence line right now.
The saying goes that when goldenrod opens, the first frost is about six weeks out. Old-timers trusted it enough to schedule the last hay cutting by it, and it earns its reputation honestly. Goldenrod doesn't watch the weather. It watches the length of the night, and it blooms when the nights stretch to a set point. First frosts follow the same calendar. Two clocks, one sun.
Six weeks is an average, not a promise. Northern gardens run shorter, sheltered ones longer. But ragweed gets the blame for your sneezing while goldenrod keeps the time, and only one of them is telling you to start bringing in the green tomatoes.
Check the roadside this week. When the gold shows, the countdown is on. 🍂
