On The Day Of The Dead

Fall is finished on my mountain. The leaves have dropped.

The native Witch Hazel, Hamamelis virginiana is in full bloom.

Under pressure, my blood sugar remains a touch high and my cholesterol is creeping up, but I will live for a few more days. The pressure is under control.

I have blue asters for the Day of the Dead.

Blue asters as the bones come out.

The cat house remains surprisingly calm. A couple of weeks of verbal warnings plus moving some of Solly's scented furnishings over here early seems to have had the intended effect. Everyone's personal space is being respected and behind the sofa is not a coveted spot. The hissing is minimal. Solly has been venturing out from behind the sofa to explore more and more. 

I voted on the Day of the Dead.

Warming Back Up To Cool

The leaves keep falling.

The barren time draws near.

Button went back out when the cold warmed to cool. There's a squirrel up there. A drift of white asters ignored the freeze.

There is still a chance for some color in the Fothergilla.

My new Georgia aster went back outside. The planting location has been decided.

I'm just going to do that after it finishes blooming so I can enjoy it up close for now.

The Blue Wood Asters survived the freeze almost completely unfazed. The fall crocus are now in bloom.

The Fall Before A Killer Freeze

Fall color was looking mighty good in the Land of the Crooked Shed.

The Fraser Magnolia was in full tobacco leaf apparel.

The blue asters bloomed on in one of the best showings in years.

It was beautiful out there.

A touch on the dry side. Some things couldn't wait for a desiccating freeze.

A killer freeze was on the way.

On the second day, frozen clouds rubbed the treetops, shedding tiny white bits as they headed south. The meadow thinned. The trees shed half their leaves. The mood has shifted.

Fall Color Has Arrived

The trees are turning. The leaves are falling. Fall color has arrived. The blue asters are having a massive bloom year. There would be more if the deer didn't eat them.

Farewell Miss Collar. I have been in North Carolina long enough for the full life of a cat. So long, it is time to sign up for Medicare.

Out in the sunshine and cool 60-degree breeze,

Fly away.

Before Hurricane Waters

It was 50 degrees and grey skies with an intermittent wind chilly when I wandered out for a stroll. Fall colors are beginning to show in the cool.

The bloom of blue asters spreads across the mountain.

The grasses are in bloom.

The hurricane diagnosis was for two days of rain. After a three week dry spell here, rain will be welcomed

And the rains came at a steady 46 degrees in a London fog drizzle and is still going 48 hours later.

Into the blue asters we wander.

A Bloom Day Stroll In Cold Sunshine.

It was too cold to work last Saturday so I stayed home and looked out from my front porch. A deceptive sunshine ruled the day. The wind chilly wasn't lying.

I had spotted my target for November's Bloom Day a few days ago. The sun was out. I was at home for the event. So I waited for that short window of 'as warm as it is going to get' and went out for a stroll.

It wasn't too cold for the Witch Hazels, Hamamelis virginiana, to be out, not with this sunshine and temperatures above freezing.

My minimum operating temperature is 40 degrees. If there isn't going to be enough time above that, I stay home. That doesn't mean I can't go for a walk in the gardens to visit the Witch Hazels for Bloom Day. The native Witch Hazel is the last bloom of the season until the snowdrops next year. Not bad. The snowdrops wake up in January.

While I was out there during the best part of the day I put a cage around the Florida Torreya taxifolia. Just in case. This is an endangered plant that got stranded in Florida after the last ice age, only 10,000 years ago, that is being assisted in migration back north. One found its way to me. A little research tells me they are already being cultivated successfully in Asheville and in Waynesville at 3600 feet. Will it survive at 4000 feet? Will it get eaten by varmints? Good luck little one.

The full naked forest is almost here, not many leaves left. Some things last and some things don't. Nothing lasts forever.

The killing frosts arrived with thick drizzle and cold sunshine. No snow. That will be along shortly as the Under Garden of winter reappears in a frozen meadow.

This evening a vibration of Monet spoke up, it's Bloom Day. The Last Blue Aster On The Mountain.

Remnants Before The First Killer Freeze

These pictures were taken over the last few days. Keep your eye on the Kousa Dogwood on the right front porch corner. The late turners are having a good showing this year. The first killer freeze arrives tomorrow morning. That will hasten the end of leaves.

I had to record the Japanese Holiday Tree in peak fall color. 

The Rough Bark Japanese maple proceeded to do the same.

The Fothergilla lit up big time.

My Kousa Dogwood is bipolar. It has two trunks that color to their own drummer. There might be a short period of synchronicity during the weeks long process

It's always something messing with my eyes. That is smoke in the air along with passing spells of cold drizzle.

The Waynesville golf club's courses are being remodeled and they have been burning large amounts of old trees and brush in the middle of town for a good week at least. The smoke lingers in mountain valleys. My eyes get puffy. Soft focus takes hold.

The remnants all together on a cold grey smoky day. Note the leaves on the driveway. One last big drop covered it thick top to bottom in a little over 24 hours.

The color intensity in this kind of low light with the near naked land as an infinite background can be other worldly at times. Perceptions are being jolted. This is not your ordinary garden.

I wander out there.