The fall color is here. It's hard to say anything about it without using the tired cliches about nature's palette or painted hillsides, etc. We had feared that the drought would make the color season short and dull, but instead it is as glorious as ever. If anything, the sugar maples are more delectable shades of orange than the past few years. But the fall winds and (finally!) rain have begun to take down the leaves. Soon it will be all over except the raking.
Last weekend I cleared the garden of veggie remains and weeds, except for leeks and carrots. Our first frost was a couple weeks ago and it killed off the more tender plants. We've stockpiled winter squash and onions and potatoes and dried parsley and hot sauce for the winter. There's a certain satisfaction in surveying and eating your own harvest. I feel ready to settle in for the snowy months.
The monarchs are mostly gone now, along with most fall migrant birds. Somewhere in the tropics there are a bunch of critters with memories of our yard. Isn't that a romantic notion?
Our latest war makes me unhappy and uneasy. It looks like Vietnam, but with a twist. In Vietnam we knew whom we were fighting, but not why. In Afghanistan we know why we are fighting but not whom. In both cases there is no exit strategy, and in this case we don't have any idea of what would constitute victory. I could go on and on. (But I won't.)
We flew to Phoenix in late September to visit Karen's folks. It was a pleasant trip and it was good to see them. The weather was in triple digits and arid, quite the contrast to the Northeast. Lots of butterflies were out and about. We took a side trip to Tucson and saw a life bird (Olive Warbler) and six life butterflies. The Sonoran Desert Museum was as fabulous as we remembered. Karen's folks also took us up to Sedona where we saw some of the spectacular red rock country. Arizona has its color, too.
That's about it from our neck of the woods. Stay warm, dry, safe!
Terry 10/17/01