As Our Life Goes On

There are several very tall sugar maple trees on one side of our yard. Some are almost leafless but others are just starting to change color. The leaves turn so many intense colors of red, yellow and orange. The city picks up leaves and a late fall of the leaves means an extended work period for the city workers. If the snow falls before all of the leaves come down it compounds the difficulty of the leaf cleanup. We are due to have a stormy day tomorrow with rain and lots of wind. The trees look so pretty it will be sad to see the change. 

This old faucet would look good somewhere in one of the garden areas in the yard but that is one of the things that will probably remain unfinished until next year. Not sure where we will put the old faucet  but perhaps a season of thinking might bring forth a plan. The half wagon wheel behind it has hoops for hanging plants  placed around the edge. We bought both of these many years ago with plans to use them. It could happen! 

Our granddaughter Kelsey helped her grandpa Russ plant this tree many years ago. The small twig of a tree has grown into a beautiful maple tree. We think of her whenever we pass this tree on a walk to the bottom of the hill on the West side of the yard. 

The old stained and cracked green asphalt tile from the 50s is now gone from our breezeway. A long overdue remodel has been finished. The stained and warped plywood walls were removed as were all of the doors and windows. Only the original bead board ceiling was left in place. Gray textured ceramic tile now covers the floor. We no longer have to prop the old poorly fitted aluminum storm doors open to get a breeze through the breezeway. The new doors close softly and stay shut. The hard to crank and hard to clean jalousie windows in the front and the non-opening windows in the back have been replaced with easy to open windows with screens. It is now a welcoming way to enter our home rather than an eyesore. 

The Fall colors have been extended this year by the warmer than usual weather. The changes have arrived in increments so some trees are completely bare and some are still green with no changes at all. It was worth the bumpy ride on Lake Rockwell Road in Portage County, Ohio to see the giant maples trees in the woods that flank each side of the road. The water reservoir is nearby. There is no trespassing in the woods and there are few people in the area. The road is so rough that travel has to be very slow. I would recommend this route for those who wish to go slow and enjoy the colors.  A bike trip through the area would be a great option. 

It does not seem that this tree was planted that long ago. Our granddaughter Jordan was only 7 or 8 when she helped her grandpa plant this tulip poplar. She is 19 years old now. She wore my boots which were so loose that she had trouble keeping them on her little feet. Unfortunately the first Winter that the tree was in the ground it met a sad fate. The deer girdled the trunk with their antlers and the tree died above the point where they gouged the bark off. The strong tree sprouted a small branch near the bottom edge of the trunk when Spring came and that little sprig has grown into this beautiful pyramidal tree. We refer to this tree as Jordan's tree. 

The local national parks remain closed because of the government closure. This has caused the Metro parks hike and bike trail behind our property to be very busy today. The mild temperatures are in the mid-seventies and we have seen many people wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts. Some walk slowly enjoying the wooded areas and wetlands as they talk to a companion. Some fly by on their expensive bikes shouting out "on your left" or ringing the bells on their bikes. These speedsters are missing a lot by going so fast. 

This warm cloudless day seems more like a Summer day than a day in Fall. The decorative grasses have ripened to a golden brown color. They tower over my head and make me feel tiny as I walk through the meadow areas of the yard.  There was a noise in the tall pine trees on the West side of the house as I walked through them. A large hawk had landed overhead but it quickly flew away as I raised my camera to take a picture.  The above normal temperatures have slowed down the color changes in the trees. We are still laying up firewood in spite of this warm weather.  It is a good time to catch up on the outside work that relies on warmer temperatures. 

Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar I wonder how I have lived so long and not noticed or found one of these Leopard moth caterpillars. It was at the edge of a field in Western Pennsylvania. I hurried to the camp to fetch my camera so that I could get these pictures. Here is a link to Wikipedia that describes the moth and the caterpillar.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_leopard_moth When we left home on Friday we did not expect to find that the trees in Pennsylvania had changed color so much. The deep reds of the black gum trees contrasted with the beautiful golds and reds of the maples, sumac bushes and ash trees. The hills were emblazoned with color. It made the trip quite enjoyable. 

Thunder rumbled as the storm clouds grew darker this afternoon. The colors in the wetlands area at the bottom of the big hill on the West side of the yard have increased in beauty. The meadows are covered with beautiful leaves from the large sugar maple trees. We need rain so the sound of drops hitting the windows was welcome. The colors and sounds of Fall make me thankful for good eyesight and hearing.