Fall, Glorious Fall!

Fall is such a glorious season.  The colors, the smells, the cooler temperatures.  Here in Oklahoma we don't really see pretty fall foliage until late October or early November.  And fall has officially made its presence known.  Pumpkins are out.  Mums are planted and vibrantly blooming.  The leaves are all shades of yellow and orange and brown and red.  We are trying to soak in every minute of it!

Colors In My Garden

The calendar says it is officially fall now, but most things here in Oklahoma don't start changing colors until later in the season. I worked in my front flowerbed this morning while Lucas rode his tricycle in the driveway. As I was pulling weeds and trimming up bushes, I surveyed the colors around me, and I determined that there are still quite a bit of summer colors left.

Like the bright green of my sweet potato vine.  This stuff loves the hot summer heat, and it grew like crazy this year!  It was a nice contrast to the darker green bushes growing behind it.

I forget the name of this flowering plant.  Anyone know what it is?  After my mom died, a wonderful friend of mine came to my house and worked in my flowerbed for hours.  She selflessly gave up her entire day to totally transform my garden from a neglected mess to something beautiful.  She planted several of these flowering bushes and I love them.  They have grown like wildfire, and I love the pretty two-toned pink flowers as well.  They look so graceful swaying in the breeze.

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I love the pop of color in this beautiful periwinkle blue.  Or maybe it's purple?  This salvia bush grows bigger each summer (I planted it years ago).  It also attracts bees, so I can't get too close to it.  At least I'm doing my part to help pollinate the planet.

And of course, I have my fuscia crepe myrtle, its soft flowers fall to the ground like hot pink confetti.  This is another plant that loves the hot, dry summers in Oklahoma.

But then, I looked up at the tree in our front yard.  And low and behold, the leaves are changing from green to brown ever so slowly.  They are looking "crispy" and starting to fall to the ground. 

And finally, I looked at our once green grass and saw flowers that I do not care to see-- white clover.  In other words, weeds!  Pesky, annoying, hard-to-get-rid-of weeds.  Although my girls think we've hit the flower jack-pot and bring me bouquets of these lovely things all day long.  Looks like some weed killer will be applied this fall to avoid having this stuff return in the spring.  Our grass goes "dormant" in the winter and turns brown.  I wish we lived in an area where the grass stayed green all year long. *sigh*

What colors are showing up where you live?

Fall Came To Visit

Fall came to visit us today!  Our temperatures dropped significantly.  In fact, you could even say it was downright chilly!  No shorts or tank tops today.  And in addition-- it rained!!  Our parched ground sure needed it too.  Although, it wasn't a downpour, it was something, and we were all grateful.  I spent the day at home, never leaving the house at all.  I tackled four loads of laundry and spent a lot of time playing with Lucas.  I had the windows open letting in the cool, rain-soaked air, and I had a pumpkin spice candle burning.  My friend even stopped by with a delicious Starbucks Cafe Mocha for me.  Fall decided to swoop in and save the day for sure.

My coffee and candle

My cute little playmate for the day.  His favorite toy at the moment is his "neigh."  He rides it around all over the house.  After I take his picture, he says, "I see Lukey!"  He loves to ham it up for the camera and then giggle at his photo.

I hope you had a wonderful Fall-like day wherever you are!