My personal update: (Including Magnolia Seed Pod Fall)

I celebrated my first whole year of living here on September 30th of this year.  It has been a good year – a very deep drink of spending oodles of time with my nuclear family – Mother, brother and some of his offspring. There were even babies involved which pretty much always make my Millennium. Now we have a wedding coming up for another niece – Hannah – who is marrying a delightful guy and another favorite of mine, ‘Jimmah’, as Tom and I call him. 😉  My older brother, Mike and my sister Diane are steaming in for the wedding, so we’re all over this family deal. My daughter visits in a couple weeks, so I am partially delirious – more than usual, I guess. If, of course, that’s possible. Finally, we are celebrating the extreme good health of my 92 year old Mother. She and I have torn around the neighborhood and “scenic Louisville” with some abandon ever since I arrived, her showing me the town and me clicking pictures. I guess I’m pretty happy with how things have proceeded thus far. Life is pretty good.

(click images to enlarge, even this here good ol’ Dogwood tree)

So here we are, holding off Winter with another typically “Kentucky” transition season. Reliably, Kentucky presents the most distinct 4 season climate I’ve ever seen. Each season is utterly separate and individual and they occur without fail. From an extremely hot Summer, we now evolve into Fall. This year is complicated by a virtual drought. There are many trees we suspect are dropping leaves owing to thirst, although the clay soils here and the deeper roots of some of the big monster trees would need another year or two of drought to really make a difference.  I do know drought, let’s be clear. I have seen it out West in severe fashion. Since today it’s raining here, I am a bit more sanguine about these concerns. I mean, we had a wet Summer, with very green grass up into September.  But it’s here, in any event, just not the same degree of outrageous which it was last year. Last year was frankly epic for color. This year – just OK. (Look how spoiled I am.)

But this year has also been a heavyweight pleasurable year for grasses. I’ve always adored the seeding process, watching the soft seed fronds develop. Taken in just the right light, this year’s grass seeds are a bit parched, but lighter for that and somehow a bit more ‘whispery’  than normal.

Naturally, the trees are the thing here. Check out this set of Maple Twins. What’s most interesting here is the location where the color begins, up on top. They will spread the wealth almost gravity-like into the brilliant colors they’re generally known for.

I’ve always enjoyed this cluster. The Blue Spruce enjoys its position and the large spreading Maple behind presents a redder cast this season. It’s a fascinating and an altogether complimentary contrast.

And here is the view, just walking up a bit, as the gorgeous Maple shows its looming magnificence as a corner tree………the “Guardian” of this cozy and slow-moving little residential street.

As can be seen, it is not quite yet the full-blown Autumn. We’re borderline! Green leaves still abound, raising some suspicions among us concerning the weather alluded to earlier. And, yet, it also makes for more interesting shadings of color in general. Below, for example, if you enlarge the picture, you can see the yellow highlights forming among the apparently green leaves. It is very subtle but gorgeous, in my opinion. Such small differences are a small element behind the prettiest Autumns.

Here’s the “head on” view of the same tree, illustrating just a bit better the yellow tinges of the season itself.

Then the more colorful neighbors, taken from underneath a canopy of equally-intriguing Maples across the street:

And now a look into the canopy above from the picture-taking location. Delightful color, just taking place:

Then a look back as we pass the trees featured above, but from a different angle, with the Sun playing some very cool games:

You have to admit, this is an interesting 200 feet of walking!

Let us not forget our little sidewalk canopy, either – it has some special coloring as well……….just more

This park sidewalk always provides such ample pleasures. In Spring, they feature a slew of Chinese Plums, in brilliant bloom. Now, this time of year, the stunning success of their landscaping plan reveals itself in the intended colorful offerings of spectacular Autmun color:

Red is such an impressive swath of coloring in Nature. Here we see some local Euonymous Elata (Burning Bush) as it catches the sun an a cool angle and shows itself off in bright detail:

When all is said and done, this Fall thing is taking shape as slightly different and yet no less interesting, as Autumns go. Plus, Mom is kicking butt as a very healthy 92 year old old young pup. Life is OK. Thanks for tagging along.