The phrase “Indian Summer,” is often misused in late October or early November after an unseasonably warm day. To be accurate, an Indian Summer is when it becomes unseasonably warm AFTER very cold weather or a hard frost. The Old Farmers’ Almanac has even more stipulations but I think it goes a bit far. I am not as much a stickler. After most the leaves have fallen and the grass has stopped growing, today’s Indian Summer is a bittersweet coda to the summer that has recently left us. Donning my shorts for the first time in weeks, I went for an early morning ride on my bicycle before attending to my afternoon chores.
With the weather so balmy, it was easy to finish up last seasonal chores. The windows needed washing before they would be shut and locked for the next 6 months. Already a few stink bugs have taken up residency in the crack only to be evicted with a spray of Windex and brush of paper towel. The clean window now offers up a vivid and focused lens to the changing landscape. The hostas have lost all of their green and with that are collapsing into a pile of yellow, mushy detritus. Half the dogwoods have lost their leaves while a few varieties have yet to toss their bright red leaves to the ground.
Last week’s rain dumped more leaves to the turf and needed to be raked to the side yard to rot and create beds for all the soon to sleep creatures. There is more activity today as squirrels, chipmunks and birds are active gathering food for the day and storage. The back patio is bathed in gentle light through the tress now that they have shed most of their leaves leaving on the hill a yellow, orange, red and brown carpet. This covering will turn to gray in the next month after the final leaves lose their hold, though oaks can hold on to dead leaves longer than most.
The Japanese maples hold on to their leaves late giving a colorful show that few other trees can match. Their flame-like colors sets them off from peers. But unlike many of their taller counterparts, they drop their colors in one giant fall leaving a textured mat at their base.
