Last week's cold snap finished off the marigolds and the cannas, both of which had been brilliant prior to the frost. That's the way of the seasons here. Currently, we are enjoying pleasantly cool, eminently walkable days though our nights are now at 2-blanket temps.
However, one great disappointment this fall: the Virginia creeper, which is our prime source of autumn red, was zapped before it had a chance to put on its display. A few red leaves, here and there, but most of the vines in our neighborhood are drab (below).
The buffalo gourds do show up quite nicely in the midst of the plant's dry, dead leaves.
And the days are cool enough that if you do find a surviving grasshopper or similar critter, it is slowed down sufficiently to be photographed without any problems. I like that, I do. Not to mention the fact that the pansies and violas are happy, happy plants.
Last week's cold snap finished off the marigolds and the cannas, both of which had been brilliant prior to the frost. That's the way of the seasons here. Currently, we are enjoying pleasantly cool, eminently walkable days though our nights are now at 2-blanket temps.
However, one great disappointment this fall: the Virginia creeper, which is our prime source of autumn red, was zapped before it had a chance to put on its display. A few red leaves, here and there, but most of the vines in our neighborhood are drab (below).
The buffalo gourds do show up quite nicely in the midst of the plant's dry, dead leaves.
And the days are cool enough that if you do find a surviving grasshopper or similar critter, it is slowed down sufficiently to be photographed without any problems. I like that, I do. Not to mention the fact that the pansies and violas are happy, happy plants.
What is a buffalo gourd? Is it edible? Looks like a melon.
ReplyDeleteAhh but the drab leaves make those blue berry-looking devices stand out beautifully. :)
ReplyDeleteThose buffalo gourds look so much like tennis balls that my dog ends up dragging those back when I play catch with him in the evenings. :)
I hauled aways five bags of leaves today. Will be happy when they all fall. Nice pictures.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, GJ!
ReplyDeleteThe visitors at the Mountain Club bird feeders are fun to see too!
I've tried for years to get a good Acorn Woodpecker picture...
That one's great!
pb -- buffalo gourd is a wild plant that grows in the AZ uplands; I don't think it'sedible, tho I've often wondered about its huge underground root.
ReplyDeletetombo -- I too liked the contrast between the blue berries & the dried leaves.
steve -- I don't know if it's an advantage or a disadvantage to have lots of pines. While they don't do a major drop in the fall, the rain needles throughout the year ... which needles pile up into something the forester types call duff which is quite flammable.
brain -- Bob managed to get several nice shots of that particular bird. Like you, I've tried & tried. I have at least got some passable pictures -- but the most frustrating of all are those pesky scrub jays, which are all over the lot but impossible to catch with the camera.
Granny J..wow,it looks more like the end of summer there,than it does here, where it should be looking like it, by now, but not.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your pictures, no matter the season.
jan -- don't forget that I'm not down in the hot Phoenix desert, but up in the mountains. Things can cool down here pretty fast -- especially at night.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed sad to see the bright marigolds reduced to sad withering heads.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics.
meggie -- and yet even in their withered state, they make a fine picture, I think.
ReplyDelete