Red is a-poppin'

Many people in more northern latitudes have already had autumn colors come, and perhaps go, by now. But here below the 35^th parallel of latitude, autumn arrives a bit later. Within the past week or two, I have seen some of the leaves on the early-changing trees and bushes begin to lose their green color and become some shade of yellow. But, only this week have I begun to see a few leaves truly take on the vibrant colors typical of this time-of-year.

And, of course, only the Dogwood trees (Cornus florida) have begun to share their color thus far, as they are the first trees in this area to be affected by the cooler weather. Our common hardwoods  — the oak, hickory, sassafras, locust, ash, et al. — have not begun to show their fall colors yet. The oak trees have been raining a torrent of acorns on the property, though, littering the yard, the driveway, and pelting the roof of the house. 😬

The yellow, orange, and red leaves on the dogwoods are a lovely sight! 😊 It won't be long, though, before the leaves begin falling in droves. As I've gotten older, it is harder for me to get out there and rake the leaves when they fall, so I have asked the young man who cuts my grass (for a fee) to continue coming through the leaf-season to keep the yard looking decent. 🍂 As can be expected, there will be more pretty pictures as the autumn season unfolds here over the next month or so! 🍁