The sun is shining in a clear blue sky; the heavy gray of yesterday is gone. The red dogwood leaves flutter in a light breeze–most of the bright berries have already been eaten by birds, and I can easily see how soon the branches will be bare. Random small twigs and branches lie beneath the maple, shaken loose by the recent rains, mixing with leaves that wait to be mulched into the green grass with the next mowing. Across the street, one maple is starting to turn, still green at its core, but yellow, gold, and red on its edges, as if it’s bursting into flames. The hostas in the front bed have gone to seed. The sedum has darkened from dusty pink to a burgundy shade, a nice contrast with its pulpy leaves.
Autumn is definitely settling in, here in eastern Pennsylvania. I don’t smell woodsmoke in the evenings yet, but it’s just a matter of time, as is frost coming along to kill off all the annuals. (If it happened this week and got rid of all the goldenrod pollen, I would be ecstatically grateful, just for the record.) We still have a few days heading up to 80 (27 C), where the attic fan kicks in, but the bulk of the days are in the high 60s and low 70s (say 19 to 24 for those of you in other countries).
Stores have fresh-pressed apple cider for sale, and piles of pumpkins surround the corner markets. Neighbors have yards strewn with Halloween decorations, and we even put up some new gel clings to try to deter the berry-drunk birds from plowing into our windows.
I love this time of year, ripe with possibility–yes, my brain runs on school-year status, which makes fall the start of the year and new ventures. My writing always increases, and I manage to turn my hand to needlecrafts, prepping for the gift-giving season ahead.
What are you grateful for today?
I’m grateful for having lovely posts like this one to read. 🙂
Aw, thanks! (One of these years, I’m going to admit that maybe I do write description. 😉 )
It all sounds lovely. Fall is my favorite time of year…or was before I moved to Florida. LOL! There’s no turning crispness here.
The only time I’ve spent in Florida was in May, years ago, but it was as hot and humid as summer here — and far more so than the Bay Area, where I lived at the time. I can well believe that fall is missing its defining elements there!
My sedum doesn’t turn to burgundy. Must be a different variety. The maple is still green, but the grape vine is turning. You are an autumn person. It does have a subtle changing of colors before the snow sets in, I admit.
Give me Spring with the fields of flowers in a riot of colors bursting on the palette of life. Yes, they do that in the desert especially after a heavy winter.
We do have rabbitbrush in bloom now….
Our maple is still mostly green, too. It changes later than most in the neighborhood. I should’ve put pictures up, but I was charging the camera battery yesterday. Today, of course, it is pouring rain.
I love spring, too. Daffodils do not bloom in the fall.
Yes, I have the same reaction to rabbitbrush that I do to goldenrod. It’s a little late in the year for that, isn’t it? Usually it’s in full bloom in August.
No. No. No. September through the first snow or hard frost whichever comes first is rabbitbrush season here. It’s been 90 degrees +. Supposed to go into high 70s soon. My sedum is more or less a rust color in places.
If you buy bulbs early enough, not the ones on the market now, you could force the daffodils to bloom in the fall. I had some that bloomed in the summer the first year, but you saw them in the ‘new garden’ photos during the Spring.
There was rabbitbrush blooming last summer when I was out — both times. My sedum varies in tone, from dusty rose to rusty to burgundy. (And to be honest, the burgundy is probably a charitable description.)
I haven’t had much luck with forcing bulbs, though I bought some to do that with — even got some little crocus vases the one time.