Fall

Until I moved to my little house in the big oak forest I didn't really have a strong association with the word "Fall" for the season. But here, the acorns and hickory nuts come pelting down. In a big wind on Halloween, it sounded like stones were being thrown in the street. Bam! The acorns have piled up to dangerous levels - my dog slipped and fell while trying to walk on what was virtually the same as a pile of marbles. Poor old guy. He got up and limped home, but he was sore.

I got out in the yard today and planted 48 daffodils along my new fence by the neighbors, and a handful of crocuses by the front door. There are raking and pruning tasks to do, but planting daffodils is the single best investment to pay off for years-decades- in the future. The bulbs were from Costco. Because of the recent rain it was easy to dig.

The oakleaf hydrangea is truly terrific

Dogwood from below

Unusual for a white oak to be this colorful

My St John's Wort, looking good

The serviceberries are terrific this year

Even from inside the serviceberries look great

I brought the hibiscus in and it's blooming

First Hard Frost

 It was 25 degrees when I got up this morning. But sunny! It didn't get much above 40 degrees. Records set everywhere (for cold). Leaves are coming down fast. But the colors this year are fantastic.