Musings

Melting pumpkins

Is it really the end of October? High of 79°F, of all things. Warm enough to melt squash?

Plant magic

Yes, they were this bright. Love the azaleas, and they bloom over and over in the Deep South…with enough nutrients and moisture.

Weather watch (again)

Confession: this photo is from last week in the UP, a daisy-ish fleur in a mowed path, nestled in with a dusting of fallen leaves.

I thought it was dry up there, yet it’s dry dry dry here, too—no rain yet in this month in ATL, which is…WOW!…as it’s already the 23rd. OTOH, it’s great to see a flower even if the weather is especially arid and un-supporting of plants.

Ilex immaturity

Before holly berries get ripe, they are green. [Duh.] In the maturation process they turn from greenish to orange-tinted (as here), before finishing brilliant red.

Leaf report

Today’s weather qualified as partly sunny, as in almost no sun at all; however, I did catch the woods lit beautifully this afternoon. The color is coming.

Meanwhile, the lower leaves on the UncleDaveMaple are seemingly in neon hues.

Curiosities

Today in my wander, I found curious shapes…this gnarly branch…

…and an exploded milkweed pod. I learned today that the technical name for the fluff is coma (popularly also floss or filaments).

Lake-ward hike

My pre-coffee outing was to gauge the first frost. There was just a teeny bit on the ground, but the roofs sported a goodly amount—I’d call it a light frost. See that lower right unfrosted area? That’s above where our pillows are…it shows a serious lack of insulation!

Today’s headliner was a hike to the shore of Lake Superior…partly along the North Country Trail.

The lake was placid, much calmer than the other day.

See? That rock is the east edge of the Pictured Rocks.

On a more macro level, look at these grey fungi!

And these orange hued ones.

My-o-my did we return to the cottage (an hour-plus drive) all creaky. And hungry…ah, leftovers!

Expected, unexpected

I was too lazy to head to the beach to watch the sunrise, but did get out to see the sun crest the treeline. Nice.

Now this is unexpected: a few lilac blooms in OcTOWber! They do smell like spring.

Yawn

I titled this showoff grass, and that’s about the extent of my “creativity” at the moment. G’night.

Leaf me be…

I can get mesmerized by patterns.