Seasons Greetings from Alabama! Goodbye Fall, Hello Winter

Less than two weeks ago, brilliant fall colors of Japanese maples and more mellow, antique foliage of other trees and shrubs combined for a beautiful farewell to autumn. I knew winter was coming as aging leaves showered down and the woods took on shades of gray and brown. Earlier this week, I casually listened to weather reports forecasting possible snow. Snow predictions are often overblown here, but this time there wasn't the hysteria of mass school closings and a rush on grocery stores that such reports usually generate. I expected some snow flurries, maybe. We don't get much snow in central Alabama.

Yesterday I was truly surprised when I woke to this scene in the front garden:

Snow was coming down! Before it stopped 12 hours later, Lou measured 6 inches in the flat parking area behind the house. The weather forecasters had misjudged (slightly!) the amount we would get. 

I thought it would be interesting to compare images taken on November 28 to those I took yesterday. What a difference 10 days make! Do you prefer the fall or winter images? Photos in each set were taken in the same general location:

'Feelin' Blue' Deodar Cedar with Japanese maple 'Orido Nishiki' in the background.

The blue bridge in the woodland garden:

Views of the bench in the woodlands:

A side path in the woodland garden:

Woodland rabbit viewing the garden:

Looking toward the edge of the woodland garden:

The "sitting rock" in the woodland garden:

A birdbath in front of the house:

Finally, some images of a couple of birdhouses:

Our snow will be gone by tomorrow afternoon. I don't have to deal with it all winter, so I can enjoy the wonderment of it as a delightful change of scenery. And I have more snow pictures! Coming soon in my next post...

Beautiful Fall, Despite It All

There is moisture out there. This morning the sky was filled with low clouds and the air hung damp over the earth. But as the day progressed, the clouds lifted and blue sky appeared. We had about ten minutes of rain one day last week, but the drought continues. 46 out of 67 counties in Alabama are suffering emergency level drought conditions, including where I live. We have a chance of rain several days next week, with 80% chance on Wednesday. I am hopeful!

Despite the drought, fall colors this week have been beautiful, and one day I took a walk to see the foliage in neighboring yards.  This gorgeous tree is located on a neighbor's property.I am surprised that not all leaves have simply shriveled and turned brown before falling. Plenty of them have, and autumn colors are more antique than vibrant. But Japanese maples and other acers, dogwoods, hickory trees, and crape myrtles (Lagerstroemias), as well as various shrubs are putting on a show. Molten leaves fall to the ground next to the road leading to my house.

In my own garden, colors have peaked. Here are images taken this week:

The first good rain will surely strip the trees and leave a deep sea of leaves covering the ground. When that happens, I will be outside rejoicing.