“A sense of curiosity is nature’s original school of education.” – Smiley Blant

A season spinning into autumn. Cooler mornings. Goldenrod and Joe Pye weed in bloom. Chicory, that cornflower blue flower. Hickory nuts and black walnuts overhead on branches, plunking to the ground–better beat the squirrels to these tasty morsels encased in husks. Apples, a bountiful year. Pears. Amaranth in gardens, once removed as a “weed” – now picked and steamed as a delicious green addition to meals. September, possibly the most perfect weather of a yearly cycle. Gardens producing, the chip-chip of a goldfinch and daylight that still lingers. Time to think, in a garden or on a walk.

The sprawling event that is The Big E–Sept. 18 to Oct. 4, 2026.

Also, once things get going, view the live streams and show results from near or far.

The Draft Horse Show (our favorite), is Oct. 1 to Oct. 4, 2026.

Hitches from across the country and Canada will meet to square off at the premier draft horse show in the Northeast. History: The first official Big E Draft Horse Show was held on the grounds of Eastern States Exposition in 1991. Equine enthusiasts and fairgoers alike loved the “All Hitch” show featuring a cavalcade of draft horses in dress harness. It was a passion poised to build and grow. This heavy horse extravaganza was moved from a weekday event to the weekend in 1996 as a result of incredible interest and enthusiasm. Since then, appreciative and enthusiastic audiences have packed the 5,000 seat coliseum to see as many as 30 six-horse hitches strut their stuff competing for hefty purses. Entries compete head to head with each other in classes for carts, tandems, unicorns, teams and fours. The sea of horses, harness and wagons is a spectacular sight! Eastern States Exposition was honored in 1998 to be chosen to host The North American Six Horse Hitch Classic Series World Championship Finals–held on the grounds of Eastern States Exposition in 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The Draft Horse Show will begin with a Thursday afternoon performance and continue with afternoon and evening performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The grand finale featuring $50,000 in prize money will take place on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2:30 p.m.

The 2026 Archaeology Fair, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lebanon Historical Society, 856 Trumbull Hwy, Lebanon, CT. Join State Archaeologist, Dr. Sarah Sportman in celebrating Archaeology Awareness Month–displays, games, and talks about the great archaeology that is taking place in our state. Free and open to the public.

September is a season of spiders – arachnids seem to fill every niche, crevice or cranny. An orb weaver web can be spectacular sight adorned with morning dew.

Charlotte.

Yes, a spider will bite if provoked or cornered – or when unknowingly slept upon – but they’d really rather be left alone. Indoors, it is a good idea to regularly sweep walls and ceilings plus flap comforters and quilts to air them this time of year. (Spiders do seek shelter inside.)

As some humans have a crush-kill-destroy mindset when dealing with any unfamiliar life form, consider that Yale University researchers study toxins contained in spider venom to develop and deploy as a pain medication or to treat cardiac patients. (Access is gated to this scholarly article; a Google search will produce related news reports.) So. Respect. Leave them to their hunting, marvel at the engineering and tensile strength of a spun web. Ponder for a moment that the keys to unlock human problems may right in front of us – plants, fungus, and a wild array of (not large) critters.

Springtails for instance. Overlooked by big stomping humans, these not-sexy miniscule animals in the soil “act as the soil’s champion compost makers . . . and seem to enhance the mycorrhizal association between fungi and plant roots.” More simply put – they are “like cows on a pasture, regulating the growth of their food by continuous clipping and by fertilizing the ground with their droppings,” according to The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature, by David George Haskell, published by Viking/Penguin Group.

All this rather remarkable springtailing and spidering (just two species) goes on unceasing as you mow the lawn, tend a garden, sit still – or savor an ice cream cone. Fried clams, fresh sea scallops. Having traveled extensively due to military service and then as a military spouse, access to good water, great fresh food – and the ocean – will never be taken for granted. Connecticut is a small-in-size state with shoreline, rivers, farm markets, airports, train service – culture, history, great libraries, innovative schools, colleges and universities – and nearly everything imaginable is within an hour’s drive. (Less by air.) In other states, it takes an hour’s drive one way to get groceries.

Look sharp because September is also when a bumper crop of fungi appears. Woods, fields, pastures – lawns. (Former cow pastures, lush with a variety of plants and flowers here. resilient greens and many pollinators even though it’s regularly mowed. No sprays.) But how to know what is edible and what is deadly? Don’t consume any. For those who want to learn more and gain knowledge, apprentice to a master. Spend the time absorbing a lifetime of information first hand.

And notice the mushrooms, fungi, flora and fauna this time of the year.

Seen, September.

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) September 9, 2026 at 11:59 AM

Mushrooms are fungi usually found growing on soil or decaying matter. The mushroom is the fruiting body of mycelium, which is usually hidden underground or throughout the host that it is growing on. Participants will seek out edible mushrooms such as the sweet chanterelles, spicy trumpets, slippery honeys and, Hen of the Woods.

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) August 29, 2026 at 10:15 AM

A foray and gathering of mushroom devotees in Connecticut–a most memorable event from the past. Nowadays, if interested join a walk or group outing to learn more about fungi and learn more.

Along the newly-opened Meriden Linear Trail. Nice walk.

Historically, area was known as Dog Misery Swamp—wilderness of thickets and briars.

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) September 2, 2026 at 4:09 PM

#walk

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) September 10, 2026 at 10:39 AM

Along the way, doll’s eyes—in focus and out of.

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) August 28, 2026 at 3:31 PM

“The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel –

Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.

The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.

Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.”

– John Updike, September