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A Window On My World

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Posts will be published on occasion and irregularly as I am able.
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Saturday, November 07, 2009

Autumn Stroll

First I want to thank all of you who helped Suzanne McMinn by voting for her to get the job she dearly needs. If you are like me, you would like to know some followup.

Suzanne won the first round thanks to you and many others who voted daily. She had 18,632 votes. The runner-up received 11,506 votes. That put Suzanne 7,126 votes out in front. Yes, she has a huge readership, I hope Sam-e takes note of how much traffic she would bring to their site.

The second round requires the top 20 applicants to produce a short video (I think she said 90 seconds.), write an essay, and go through another round of voting.

We can visit SAM-e.com from Tuesday, November 17, 2009 – Monday, December 7, 2009 to vote for our favorite of the top 20 candidates. http://www.sam-e.com/ I will be there and hope you will, too.

And now for the show!


The weeping crab-apple is full of fruit this year. The fruit of this tree is not as astringent as that of the other crab-apple trees. The birds and animals love it once it freezes and goes soft.





The Leatherleaf Viburnum is practically evergreen here, but it will turn brown later when the temperatures are more severe;

while the asparagus has already turned into a golden nimbus.



The Goldflame spirea turns into a variegated shrub, pretty little thing.

There is no doubt about what provided this carpet!
Red Maple
on city property in middle of street.





Some Burning Bushes, also known as Winged Euonymus, (Euonymus alatus) are pinkish,


most are bright red in the landscape,
(Burning Bush and Dogwood Tree)




while others look burgundy. The ones in front of our house would grow large as the house if allowed. I wait until they have finished their autumn show and leaves have dropped, then I have someone prune them back severally. Also, in this photo is our only remaining sugar maple street tree. It is probably the prettiest one on the street. I think I know why. Last summer we realized our sewer line between the house and street was broken and the tree had roots growing into the large drain pipe, so it got plenty of water and nutrients daily for no telling how long!

Sugar Maples are my favorite in the landscape. However, I have read that the red maples are more aggressive and they are killing out our native Sugar Maples in the forests, turning the woodlands predominately red instead of their natural oranges, yellows, and golds.

Even worse is the vigorous Norway Maple which is extremely prolific and produces hundreds of viable seeds annually. It is still sold on the market, as are other species that are on the Federal and states' invasive plant lists. Predictions are: that in time North America will lose its diversity of tree species as the dominating species beat out the natives until it becomes like Europe in that it has only a few species in the natural forests. What a loss that will be not only for the maple syrup industry, but for future generations of school children! I can't imagine not getting to study all kinds of trees and collecting from a wide range of tree species for their leaf collections for school and maybe scouts.

Until then let us visually and mentally wallow in the riches of our Sugar Maples' beauty.




View from our front porch.




18 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely stroll, thanks for taking us along. You have some vibrant color in the landscape right now. Autumn is here indeed. :)

donna said...

You have some mighty fine fall color there in KY. I've never grown asparagus and would never have guessed it would turn to such a pretty gold. Lots of Burning Bushes in this part of the country, too. I luv them all.

Thanks for the update on Suzanne.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, that maple is absolutely beautiful! I adore Autumn colors, my very favorites time of year to be in the woods.

So sad about us losing diversity of trees, and plants too. I wish more was being done about it.

farmlady said...

Wow! What color. It's all so beautiful..., and so different than here in California. Especially that asparagus. I didn't know it "turned" like that. It's just beautiful.
Thanks for the pictures...

Pomona Belvedere said...

A pleasure to revisit the brilliant east-coast fall; ours out west have some color but nothing like what you get. Interesting info too on the maples and "trash trees". I do hope that the sugar maples's deep adaptation to its environment prevails over alien invaders.

Lucy Corrander said...

I'm going

"Oh my! Look at that asparagus!"

Then

"Euonymus!"

Then

"Goodness, look at that Sugar Maple!"

Lucky you stopped. I might have fallen off my chair if these colours had continued!

Lucy

Unknown said...

Such beautiful colours! The more autumn pictures I see, I'm convinced it's the best season of all! What gorgeous views! Thanks for posting these fabulous pictures!

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love the fall color show every year? It's fabulous! Thanks for sharing your corner of the world.

Steve said...

Thanks from here as well, Barbee. Well, turns out "here" is now "near". Moved to Louisville recently. I love the reds, by the way. I had forgotten after 40 years out West just how colorful Fall can be in these parts.

Melodie said...

So beautiful,I just love Fall!You are very lucky to live where you get a great big dose of it!Thanks for visiting me in blog land.

tina said...

You have a beautiful view from your front porch. I was wondering why the birds waited to eat the crabapples-now I know! They need that freeze I am guessing. I had no idea about the maples. It is an awful shame indeed.

Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog said...

Thanks for the lovely stroll through your autumn colors. Fantastic! I've been wanting a Goldflame spirea but have noticed that many of them at the nursery look a little ragged with bare branches. Have you had that problem with them? I'm just wondering if it's the plant or the nursery care. Then I could make a decision about buying one!

Barbee' said...

Perennialgardener: It has been a lovely autumn!

Donna, Yes, Kentucky is in the Appalachian region which has that beautiful spring and autumn. The Burning Bushes come up all over the garden. Back in the trees I leave a few and just cut them back so they don't get too large. I really enjoy the asparagus fern; I see it every time I go and come in the car.

Mo, thank you about the maple tree. Of course, I can't take credit for it. It was planted before the house was built back in 1955. We were told the developer laid out the streets, planted 2 sugar maple street trees to each plat, then started building houses.

Farmlady, how nice to hear from you! Glad you came by so I could share the colors with you. Yes, it's different from California and its Golden Hills, but that has its beauty, too. And, I have seen California in spring when flowers were blooming everywhere.

Pomona, me, too. I get the impression that the immediate change is that of Eastern forests going more red due to the red maples. In the meanwhile the Norway Maple, a trash tree bully, has gained a firm position. Forest Threats Distribution: Norway Maple I am glad you liked the photos.

Hi Lucy, if you fell of the chair and hurt yourself, we could blame it all on Autumn and her flouncy finery!

Kanak, Thank you! I think there are many, many people who would agree with you about the autumn season. During the peak, roadways up through the hills and mountains of eastern U.S.A. are so full of cars they sometimes come to a complete halt. People take photographs of the beauty, the far vistas, and wildlife such as bears.

Msrobin, Yes, I do! It is fabulous and frequently breathtaking as the light shifts and changes.

WOW,Steve! 40 years is a long time. Welcome back. Your blog has had some interesting regional posts lately. Yew Dell Gardens looks so interesting through your post, and I really enjoyed your tour through St. James Court, beautiful photos, as usual.

Melodie, I agree! And, now that we have a mulching lawnmower, we do not have to rake leaves! More time for enjoying. I am happy to live here where we get four distinct seasons. I suspect, however, I would find most places have beauty of their own.

Tina, thank you. It is really a matter of stopping and noticing it when I go in and out. Mostly, I see it from the kitchen sink window which is on the front of the house. Yes, those little birds eat those mushy fruits then poop seeds and rosy droppings all over everywhere. I have learned that crabapple trees are invasive in some areas; I never would have guessed that!

When I think about the changes in the forests, I just remind myself that earth is a garden, and as we know, gardens are never static. They are forever changing.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Barbee' girl
I don't know why it has taken me so long to get back to your blog .. jeez !!
I love the new header picture and these pictures you have posted are absolutely gorgeous girl !
The cropped view from your porch is so pretty .. and the conversation of what is happening to our Sugar Maples is scary .. why are we letting this happen I wonder ..
Again I am blown away with your Autumn pictures .. they make up for me not so great ones this year .. when I need an Autumn "fix" I am coming over here .. I might just bring Winthrop with me so he can see these beauties ! LOL

Barbee' said...

Hello Jean, You are so welcome, and thank you for the positive feedback! I am trying to recall about that spirea problem. I am not the best in world about getting watering done when it turns dry, and I think mine did drop some leaves when it was real dry. Every few years I cut it back almost to the ground in January. Then give it a little complete fertilizer (10-10-10 would work or anything you have on hand). It seems to thicken up and look rejuvenated. Hope this helps. Thank you for visiting.

Barbee' said...

Joy, Ha Ha, I know why: You have been busy, girl. Lots going on at your place and all that company that keeps dropping in there. You are just sooooo popular. You may have to schedule occasional sofa days, when you take a day to rest from all the work and excitement. If you are suffering withdrawal from Halloween, you are welcome to come over and wander through the autumn pics anytime, and thank you for the compliments; I will tell the photographers. :) I think the sugar maples' plight is due to people's not knowing. Several years ago, I overheard a woman say, "I want a Norway maple."

Jennifer said...

Gorgeous photos! You have so much color there in the fall! Our landscape is more brown with some yellow thrown in and that is about it in the fall for us. Thank you for sharing the beautiful fall colors with us!

Barbee' said...

Hi Jennifer, thank you for coming by and checking out my blog... and, for leaving a comment. It is such fun to read posts from different states, and from all over the world. I tend to drift more toward those who have animals. I can't have pets, so I really enjoy seeing, and reading about other people's animals.