I've had a lot of odd plant behavior this fall too, including plum trees that dropped all their leaves in August or September following heavy rain and cool weather, and then started blooming and leafing out again in mid-October. Based on prior years when this happened, I have found it doesn't hurt next year's plum crop. So, I'd say go for it and harvest and eat some of that asparagus.

In her book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", Barbara Kingsolver did mention that a select few commercial asparagus growers in very special climates can get two crops of asparagus per year and for some reason I have it in my head that she was referring to growers in California, but I don't remember if she said California, or if I assumed California. I do know that some growers in Peru get two separate asparagus crops a year too.

Dawn

DH mowed ours Friday even though they haven't died back completely because we have to rake leaves and they are going to cover the asparagus bed.

A few years ago I read about getting two crops by cutting the tops completely in late summer and picking the new spears but it also said that a bed treated in such a way would not live nearly as long as one left alone. So I never did it, but have picked a few of the new spears from under the old stalks for an out of season meal.