I know. I know. We're way behind everyone else. Some years, we don't have fall colors at all. These are crepe myrtle trees, and Grandpère and I agree that we have never seen our crepe myrtles this colorful, except when they were in bloom, in the 26 years we have lived in our house. This is an event, an alignment of the moon and the stars or, whatever. We don't know what caused this to happen.
That's Tara across the street, or, if you prefer, Barbie's House of Dreams, as the young girls called the place. It's the grandest house on the block. You don't get the full effect with the trees in the way.
The leaves of the tree in the back yard turned yellow, and it is as nothing compared to the brilliance of the colors in the front yard.
For your viewing pleasure.
Lovely! Up here we're entering what my partner and I call Dead Stick Season. All the leaves that are going to fall have fallen, and - well, you get the picture.
ReplyDeleteAutumn in New York is a plastic bag caught in a tree.
ReplyDeleteWe live in the South too. We have noticed recently that the colors of the trees have been beautiful this year. It must be the alignment of the moon or stars or something!
ReplyDeleteThey are truly beautiful. I'm so happy they've blessed you with such color this year.
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely. So, Two Auntees, you had color, too. It's a treat, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, you are a riot of laughs.
We were kinda dry in Virginia this year, so things were mostly brown. Not a lot of good color. Your color looks great. But it also looks like lotsa leaves on the ground --and I know what THAT means!
ReplyDeleteMargaret, yes. And I can't do it. My back, you know. Seriously, sweeping, mopping, and raking are no-nos. I am a bit sorry, because there's a certain satisfaction in raking leaves.
ReplyDeleteThat's beautiful, grandmere. I can almost smell the air, and I definitely understand why you refuse to leave this calm place even under threat of a hurricane or five. (Climate change experts say that we are going to have a harder time raising awareness about the threat of global warming over the next ten years, because there is a ten year period of cooling ahead before it hits us big time. That's my guess about why you have a "season" this year. Look at the temps in the rest of the south, especially the southeast. Seriously.).
ReplyDeleteOff-topic: grandmere, you and grandpere will be interested in my most recent post re W.
ReplyDeleteCounterlight - Hah! That is so true. I don't miss that, not that we don't get the random plastic bag in tree up here, but less common.
ReplyDeleteMimi- your photos are lovely, those trees! We had a nice fall up here but now it is just bare branch against steely gray sky.
My aren't you a long way south? We haven't had leaves for ages.
ReplyDeleteScott, we have a beautiful yard. It would be hard to leave it behind in a move.
ReplyDeleteFran, the trees will soon be sticks, but many of our plants and trees stay green all year round. I like that. I'm always startled when I visit other areas with no green whatsoever in the winter.
Leo, were we any further south, we'd be in the Gulf of Mexico. Plus, the Gulf is getting closer every day due to coastal erosion.
I see you're from the UK. You're way north.
Yep, we're in dead stick season, all right. I like it, because the terrain here is very hilly and only in the winter can you fully see the lay of the land -- in its stark and unadorned beauty.
ReplyDeleteAsk me if I still feel this way in February, though.
With the leaves off the trees, I can see the Citicorp building from my kitchen, all lit up with the glow of money going rotten.
ReplyDeletePJ, I won't forget to ask in February, but you'll probably tell us before I have a chance to ask.
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, oh joy! Who needs Christmas trees?
We don't do that here in Southern California. The palms keep their fronds, and the cacti keep their paddles.
ReplyDeleteIT
We could use a Christmas Tree to hide the Citicorp.
ReplyDeleteThanks, GM, for extending my autumn season by a bit. Virtually all the leaves are gone here in NY, though it was a spectacular season for color. Now in the "dead stick" phase, mostly. And today is a very gray and overcast one. So this brightens things up considerably! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIT, fronds, paddles? That sounds naughty.
ReplyDeleteCL, I'd like one of the aluminum Christmas trees that were once quite popular. They were usually decorated with lights and ornaments of all one color.
Tobias, you're welcome. It's a cool, bright sunshiny day here, lovely weather.
I was just in Shreveport visiting my friends there a week ago, and I admit I was a pleasantly surprised to see Louisiana color. I guess I am still such a New Englander that I assume that fall color stopped at the Ohio River. We went out on a boat on Caddo Lake and the cypress had turned a wonderful earthy red brown. It was so different to be in Louisiana when it wasn't 105 degrees and humid. Not that there's anything wrong with that....
ReplyDeleteJohn, it's all the lovelier for coming as a surprise. It's not something we can count on.
ReplyDeleteThere's lots wrong with 105 degrees and humidity. Here in south Louisiana, we rarely go above the high nineties. Thank goodness. That's bad enough.
Even here in Texas, where there is hardly anything worthwile, we've had a pretty Fall. I took a quick trip to to Austin yesterday for Easter and noticed that the fall color is the best I've ever, ever, ever seen. Really pretty. Of course, we paid for it this spring when we had no wildflowers. I think it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteRenz, no snow yet. Probably no snow this winter.
ReplyDeleteLindy, you want it all, don't you?