The charm of Indian Summer
The charm of Indian Summer
By: Jon Hammond, Tehachapi News Columnist
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments The Tehachapi area has been experiencing the warm days and cold nights that are typical of this time of year. Newer residents often assume that once the calendar summer is over, we descend into cold dark days with icy winds, but actually late October and early November can offer some of our nicest weather, in the time of year known as Indian Summer.
The term “Indian Summer” originated in the eastern states, when colonists observed that Iroquois and Algonquin tribes did most of their food harvesting in autumn rather than the traditional summer. The Native Americans depended on frosts to help dry out their corn for longterm storage, and the winter squash, pumpkins and gourds that they grew also benefitted from being allowed to mature until the vines were dried out and lifeless.
That time of year is also a period of congenial weather, when temperatures are down from their summer highs and the nights cool down. Even more important in areas of high humidity, Indian Summer is also a time when the stifling dampness of hot summer days is replaced by much drier, cooler air.
In the mountains of Southern California, of course, humidity is almost never a concern, but Indian Summer remains one of the most likeable periods of the year. The Nüwa (Kawaiisu) people of the Tehachapi area, like the Indians of the east, were also busy this time of year as they processed acorns and pine nuts and prepared for the coming winter.
Down on the San Joaquin Valley floor in Bakersfield, Indian Summer is easily one of the best times to be there. Bracketed between scorching summer afternoons and cold foggy winter mornings, Indian Summer produces blue skies and mild temperatures in the 70s.
I love to take photos of the Tehachapi area year-round, but this is one of the better times to be out with a camera — colored leaves and sapphire skies are made more dramatic by the golden, low-angle light of autumn.
Featured this week are photos I took at the Old West Ranch, in the mountains southeast of town. There is an excellent stand of Deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) in Old West Ranch, probably the most extensive I’ve ever found. Deergrass is a native perennial bunchgrass that was once far more widespread in this area and California in general, but it has been largely displaced by non-native annual grasses.
Deergrass was called si-pu-biv-eh by the Nüwa and formed the foundation of their lovely split-willlow coiled baskets. Our Nüwa language and basketry class gathers native materials for basket-making and we were delighted to find such a thriving stand of this attractive grass.
As always, I encourage you to leave the numbing comfort of the couch or recliner and get out and enjoy the beauty of Indian Summer — drive, hike, walk, ride, just go outside before it gets too cold.
Have a good week.
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