Can Fall be far behind?

There was a difference in the air when I went out this morning to put the outgoing mail in the box. It was cooler than it had been for weeks, and the humidity was far less than had plagued us all through August. The change was refreshing.

At the end of the driveway I found this: a sure harbinger that fall is approaching. It doesn't seem possible that August is over; the summer flew by so quickly, and the weather was so oppressive that we hardly went outside for the last six weeks. We were imprisoned inside the climate-controlled house as surely as during the winter. It was such a disappointment. Perhaps fall will be temperate and we can make up the time we would have spent outdoors during the summer.

In other parts of the yard, the leaves on the bushes and trees are droopy and yellow-edged. The weather has been hard on everything in the landscaping despite my constant watering. From the looks of things, we might have an early fall since the plants are exhausted from coping with the heat and are ready to go dormant. It happens often here. Last year the fall color was sporadic and muted. I doubt it will be very nice this year either.

I listened to the rooster crowing next door this morning and when I went to the mailbox I walked round to the back yard to check on the neighbor's poultry. I was surprised to find not the small red Bantam rooster and speckled hens that were there before but a large black rooster and his two black hens. I am at a loss why the change, unless my neighbors are buying their entrees "on the hoof", as it were, and the other chickens became dinner.

On other fronts, I finished shopping for winter clothes. After my weight loss I needed a new coat and other cold weather gear, and made two trips to shop for long sleeved tees, sweaters and dress pants. After I alter some skirts I made two years ago, I'll be ready for a closet change-over, which is a sure sign of fall for me. It's a holdover from school days, but September 1st seems more like the first of the year than January 1st.

I think the coat is particularly nice:

I realized I hadn't owned a wool coat for 20 years or more because of my career; like most people, my closet primarily reflected where I worked more than my off-duty time. After I transferred from the downtown engineering office and took the job at the utility plant site, my clothes became a lot more casual. Khakis, tees, sweaters and parkas in the winter. The engineering staff dressed down because we were constantly going out in the plant to check on the design modifications and inspections. You never saw a coat or tie on the managers (yes, mostly men) unless the central office big-wigs were coming for a meeting.

I would like to find a comfortable "dress-it-up" or "dress-it-down" black dress too. Any suggestions?

Autumn in the southeast

Fall has finally made its way to the southeast, and the leaves are beginning to turn. The small maple tree in my front yard is first, with its gorgeous display of yellow and orange... although part of the leaves haven't decided to commit yet and remain green.
The nandina...

...and the pyrocanthus have burst forth with red berries, adding a bright splash around the house. Even the dogwood trees are turning a rusty red.

My neighbors' trees have begun a spectacular show...

although some have yet to chime in.

Up the hill there is a brilliant scarlet bush, contrasting with the yellow-green of the evergreens behind it.

Time to make the house as colorful as the world around it!