Walk in the Woods
Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 5:00PM The weather remains very dry. High clouds cut down on the sun's brightness but hold no promise of rain. But daytime temps are only into the 70's, and our endless summer may be, however reluctantly, letting go. I heard there was a promise of rain by mid-month, but when I looked at weather predictions today, that promise seems to be vanishing. Sigh. Nevertheless, fall colors are beginning to show in the woodlands, mostly muted golds and browns. Here are some images I took yesterday as I walked in the woodland garden:
Look very close at this old Snowflake hydrangea. Do you see the Grandaddy Longlegs?
The old shed in the background belongs to a neighbor.
If I look for them, I can see signs of our severe drought in these photos. I can be sad for the suffering plants and the lost fall I dreamed of. Or I can choose to appreciate the gorgeous weather, the blessings of nature that continue, and the gentle days that stretch between summer and winter.
Hope carries on.
Reader Comments (12)
Sadly, the effects of drought do seem to be cumulative. Hopefully, that rain will materialize for you later in the month. Meanwhile, it's a good idea to make hay while the sun shines. Because of the persistence of our drought, I now operate with a "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" philosophy. Today's LA Times reported that 25% of California is no longer considered in a drought but that doesn't include Central California, which produces the vast majority of the nation's fruit and vegetables, or my area of SoCal.
I love reading your blog and seeing the gorgeous pictures. Your garden is absolutely beautiful and so serene. I garden in the Pacific Northwest and we have had endless rain this fall. I believe it's been raining here for the last 3 weeks. We have standing water everywhere in our garden. I even got stuck with my lawn mower Friday! I sure wish we could send you some of our excessive rain. As one gardener to another, I hope you get some rain soon and we get some dry weather.
Lovely photos, lovely writing.
It's been a terrible year for drought here too. We've finally had some relief this fall, thankfully. I don't care for the nasty rainy fall days, but I am so grateful for the rain. I hope you get some too soon!
The drought in Johannesburg has tipped over to truly frightening, with load-shedding restrictions on their water supply in some suburbs. I'm grateful to be still in 'be careful' mode.
It is so sad to lose your beautiful autumn colour this year although you still have far more then I do here in central Italy. Hopefully your trees and shrubs are well enough established to survive and will be fine next year. i hope the drought breaks soon for you.
I enjoyed my walk in your woods. We got 16 drops of rain yesterday and some mist.
The woods still look enchanting. I'm crossing my fingers for you to get some rain.
How wonderful to have a woodland garden. Does it require special maintenance?
Where I grew up in Pennsylvania, we always called those interesting insects 'daddy longlegs'. How interesting that they're called 'granddaddy longlegs' in Alabama!
No rain here either. I think I saw the same forecast you did (originally called for rain in mid-November, but chances have diminished now).
Like you, I'm just trying to be accepting and grateful of the current beautiful weather - cool, low-humidity, temps in the 60s, nice breeze, brilliant light blue skies. Just lovely. And a 'golden' lawn to go with it! ;-)
Some flowers are still blooming with a bit of supplemental water - but many plants are going dormant. I'm hoping that we'll eventually get rains this winter and that there won't be too much long-term damage to the trees, shrubs and perennials.
I realized looking back over most of the recent years that I'd gotten spoiled with average or above average rainfall. We'd had some droughts of course, but this is the first year since I started gardening with below average rainfall. I think our deficit is 6 or 7 inches so far - bad, but nothing like the ~ 16 inch deficit in Chattanooga!
Hoping we'll both get some good rains sooner rather than later...
I enjoyed your post. I think your captures are grand.
Autumn is slow to arrive where you live, but lovely nonetheless. We're having an extended autumn here, and it has been delightful. I still have some summer flowers in bloom! I don't think I've ever had begonias and zinnias still hanging around in November. The colors are fading fast here, but it has been a banner year for them. Wow!