October is considered the most beautiful month by many with the deciduous tree leaves changing from green to a wide variety of yellow, orange, red, and brown shades before they mostly fall off leaving branches bare brown and gray until the fill out back to green in spring. The colors generally peak north to south across New York, by early October in the Adirondacks, and mid to late October in the Mohawk Valley and Catskills, mostly gone before the first snows usually occur in November. With our rather dry summer and drought, the colors may be a bit earlier than usual this year.
Early morning frost is just around the corner, already having occurred in parts of the Adirondacks, usually varying from mid to late October in Utica and most of the Mohawk Valley. Even with frosty mornings, most days are generally in the upper 40s to mid 60s °F, though occasionally milder for a few days after the first frost, sometimes called Indian Summer.
While not terribly common by most home gardeners, some may still have mid to late fall greens, carrots, broccoli, winter squash and Brussels sprouts. Most regional farmers markets remain open through October. Many farms and orchards have various harvest festivals beginning with garlic mostly in September, then apple, pumpkin, and general harvest festivals later in the October. Some have pick your own apples available, and cider at various cider mills is a real seasonal treat.
Holidays and Observations for October 2023
October 1 Yom Kippur begins at Sundown
October 6 Child Health Day
October 9 Leif Eriksson Day; Thanksgiving Day (Canada)
October 12 National Farmer’s Day
October 13 Columbus Day observed; known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in some states
October 18 Alaska Day
October 24 United Nations Day
October 28 Nevada Day
October 31 Halloween
Columbus Day, which some call in recent years, Indigenous Peoples Day, provides that last three day weekend while the weather if still relatively nice and before the winter holiday season. Halloween is a very special folk holiday for many, with decorations outside houses of ghosts and witches increasingly common in recent years, rivaling outside decorations at Christmas.
For sports fans, ice hockey of the Utica Comets and Utica University Pioneers, as well as other universities and some high schools. Many follow their local high school football season as well, which shifts into basketball and wrestling later in the fall. And, of course, the Buffalo Bills and Syracuse Orange football are very popular.
Also for those who prefer music, films, or theater to sports, many museums and theater groups, including the Stanley, Munson, and the Other Side have a wide variety of classical, jazz, and other music. We are also fortunate to have several local theater companies who have stage productions, including the Players Theater of Utica, the Stables of Ilion, and Rome Community Theater, as well as Woodshill Theater with a winter performance in Barneveld’s Unity Hall. Smaller ensembles provide a wide variety of folk music or jazz as well at Kirkland Arts Center in Clinton, as well as Holland Patent and Remsen.
If you like a hike in cooler weather, get outside and enjoy the fall colors. Or if your prefer winter team sports or indoor theater or music, enjoy the mid fall season in Utica / Rome and the Mohawk Valley.
In the Night Skies
Rising and Setting Times of Sun and Moon on October 21, 2022
Sunrise 7:20 A.M. Sunset 6:10 P.M.
New Moon: Moonrise 7:33 A.M. E Moonset 5:55 P.M., SW
October 6 Full Harvest Moon Rises 6:11 P.M., E Sets 6:19 P.M., W
October 8-10 Draconid Meteor Shower to NW, 6 meteors/hour Giacobini-Zinner Comet
October 13 Last Quarter Rises 11:42 A.M., NE Sets 2:53 P.M., NW
October 19-21 Orionid Meteor Shower, pre-dawn to south, 15 meteors per hour, Halley’s Comet
October 21 New Moon Rises 7:33 A.M., E Sets 5:55 P.M., SW
October 28 First Quarter Moon Rises 2:07 P.M., E Sets 11:02 A.M., SW
Venus is a morning star all month, lower in the sky and dimmer as the month progresses. Jupiter becomes higher in the morning sky as October proceeds. Saturn is in the evening sky, halfway up in the southern sky by midnight, and just below the full moon on the 6th. With a telescope, Titan, it’s largest moon may also be visible. Venus and the crescent Moon are close on the 19th. On the 8th and 9th of October, it appears near Leo’s blue star Rigel. On the 28th, the Full Hunter’s Moon is in close conjunction with Jupiter.
There are two meteor showers in October, the Draconid on the 8-10th in late evening to the northwest, and the Orionid on the 19-21st to the south in the pre-dawn sky.
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