Climate Chaos and Fall Colors

In Moscow this year, осень (autumn) began in late June, and nature got so confused that fall mushrooms were popping up in July, and mice were making nests three months early.

Yet despite the abnormal weather, by the calendar, autumn in Russia consists of three months: сентябрь (September); октябрь (October); and ноябрь (November). I guess when the Romans got around to naming them, they’d run out of leaders and gods to glorify, and so just called them the seventh, eighth and ninth months.

But Russians don’t mind. They call it золотая осень (golden autumn) for the leaves that turn a bright vibrant yellow, like nature’s last treat before winter.