Juxtaposition

 

It is that time of year when autumn colors and plants sit next to summer hangovers. I will have to take my geraniums into the garage next week overnight Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday if the forecast for frost is right. The fothergilla has peaked in color this week.

Autumn colors have been somewhat muted or missing this fall. My backyard maple mostly turned brown with leaves dropping. The maple next to my neighbor's condo is fairly bright though.

Down below the sumac is a single daisy.

In the newsfeed on my Galaxy tablet there is rarely current events. I guess because I searched and touched on stories about decluttering and best buys at stores like Costco, Trader Joe's, Aldi's, I get that sort of thing in the feed. I read a story about Aldi's fall chicken salad which is an upgrade from the regular chicken salad. It has nuts and cranberries. I bought some yesterday which we ate on a croissant. It is very good. Supposedly it will disappear from the store shelf after the holiday season. 

As the weather heads for cold temperatures, critters are starting to look for warmth. I don't know what this bug is, but I was careful not to let it in my house. I saw one like it in the garage a few weeks ago where I had the geraniums sheltering one night. Then a few days ago when I took something next door to my neighbors, I saw one sitting on their porch chair.

I bought a puzzle at the Friends of the Library book sale at North Webster Thursday morning. I am going to start working on it this weekend. It is a 1000-piecer though when I prefer doing smaller puzzles.

I washed my duster/robe today, and I hung my winter bathrobe in my closet. I wore a short-sleeved top today so I could get my flu shot at Walgreen's, but this afternoon I have on a sweater. I need to think about bringing in the cushions from the porch rocking chairs. I cling to the hope that we might have a sneak Indian summer day yet in our autumn, but most likely my porch sitting days are over.

Autumn colors, pottery, loons

 Today we drove to Columbia City which still has a Richards Restaurant similar to the one we liked in Warsaw that shut down. We took Old 30 (Lincoln Highway) until we came to a section shut down by road work. South to Highway 30, but then at Indiana 5 we turned north toward Old 30 again. We wanted to enjoy the fall foliage. Actually Indiana 5 had one of the nicest stretches of colorful trees right off of Highway 30. 

When we arrived home, we noticed that we have some nice color right in our neighborhood. The fothergilla bush has turned yellow just as I predicted last week.

It is 75 degrees and sunny. When I finish this post, I am going to sit on our front porch and read a book. It is windy, but the porch is somewhat sheltered. 

As I looked down at my feet while taking the photo of the above tree, I saw one of the bright red leaves that had fallen from our backyard maple. The wind yesterday and today and probably tomorrow is going to knock more leaves from the limbs.

I moseyed down the west side of our house and was surprised to find a hydrangea bloom and some other colorful leaves with blooms. Since I hardly ever enjoy those plants because I don't walk around out there, I snipped them for a vase inside.

I cut down the Veronica (speedwell) and pulled up the last of the moss roses yesterday. Now the cheddar pinks are all that remain in our patio plot.

One of my neighbors is going from a conventional brick house owned by Grace Village to one of its apartments. She had a moving sale this weekend. I bought a piece of pottery and a book. She has lots of big furniture to get rid of (two dining tables, a stand-alone fireplace, side tables). 

Monterey Jade pottery was made in the Carmel Valley and sold in gift shops in Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea mostly from the 1940's to the 1960's. Since it incorporates my favorite color (blue), I paid the $2 and brought it home. I don't know what I am going to do with it. I have some places it could be displayed, but right now I have fall decor out. It does look especially lovely with light coming through the window of the sunporch bringing out its iridescence. 

The other item I bought at the sale was a book about loons. I have never seen nor heard a loon in nature; I have just seen them in movies, etc. This goes through the whole life cycle. I think it will be fun to learn about these intriguing birds.

Changes All Around

 

The cold nights this past week have brought on the fall colors. I don't ever remember my neighbor's hydrangea bush having such bright leaves in the 4 or 5 years since it was planted. 

He is not home right now. He went to Kentucky to propose marriage to his lady friend. They have been burning up the phone lines the past 5-6 months (well figuratively because I think that they use their cell phones). He told us he would be gone 2 weeks, but we have heard that they went ahead and tied the knot. He and his new bride will return around Thanksgiving. I met her this summer when she visited and stayed in a guest apartment. This is marriage two for her (she is a widow) and marriage 3 for him (his previous 2 wives are deceased). He knew her and her husband in the past. She has no children; some of his children live near Winona Lake so they decided to move her to Indiana.

In just one week the fothergilla leaves have put on their red shawls. I think by the end of next week the central leaf will turn yellow. It makes for a pretty contrast.

My backyard maple whose leaves normally turn a dull yellow and brownish red is the brightest since we moved here 11 years ago.

That is my house in the background. This tree is usually vibrant in the fall. It's working on presenting a finished picture. It has been windy today and yesterday. Because the leaves are still firmly attached there have been few falling, but next week will probably start the downward floating.

I love autumn. We are in the middle of all its glory now.

This morning my spine doctor and I agreed to schedule surgery. No date picked yet. I have to get clearance from my primary care doctor, have an EKG and some labs done, and get authorization from my insurance company. Probably by the end of next week I will know more. He at one time mentioned doing some fusion with rods and screws, but on this visit he said a simple laminectomy would suffice. That makes for a shorter less complicated operation though it will probably still include 2-3 levels. He will remove bone spurs and do cleanup besides removing the back layer of lamina to decompress the nerves. 

 Because I had quite a bit less pain in my legs after the steroid injections, he seemed encouraged there would be a good outcome. He said the back pain itself may or may not get better. Of course, the surgery will do nothing for the spinal arthritis and there will be more degeneration down the road. But for now I am going to focus on the potential for standing longer and walking farther. I have missed out on so many activities this past year. 

Before our first hard freeze this past week, I clipped the last rose on my front bush. It has a little stem coming out the side with a tightly closed bud. The main flower started dropping petals Wednesday; the bud has opened; it truly is the last rose of the season.

Plant Progression

 

Blustery winds the past few days mean leaves raining down and piling up. Most of the leaves in this photo taken yesterday have blown eastward today. We have just a scattered few in our backyard.

When the Grace Village landscaper planted a fothergilla bush next to my porch about two years ago, I didn't know what to expect. This was a new plant to me. I have been so happy with its coloration in autumn. The leaves are starting to blow off so it too will soon be bare.

We are getting a few flurries right now (3 p.m.). I kind of hated sending my husband out in the cold to pick up our Ruby Tuesday lunches today, but they tasted so good. Yesterday our back-door neighbor brought us some brownies his wife had baked. They were a nice change of flavor from the seafood we ate. 

By midweek we will be in the 60's. Thursday or Friday I should be able to cut my Veronica (speedwell) down to ground level in preparation for the winter. The flowers have remained bright and cheerful, but the leaves are starting to show damage from frost. I still have some cheddar pink flowers in bloom. They will be all the color I have left after Friday. 

I still need to change my watches back an hour. Managed to do all of the clocks before bed last night or when rising this morning (the kitchen clocks). I hate the time changes. I wish we would stay on a steady time all year long. 

Reading Material

A few months ago I decided to subscribe to some magazines to provide reading material during the winter and the pandemic. Something to look forward to. I had a free offer for Southern Living (can't remember how that came about) and a $6 offer for Midwest Living. They finally sent me some issues to peruse.

The Midwest Living came with some recipe booklets. I doubt I will find much of interest to me. I don't try new recipes very often anymore. I have yet to look them over, however.

 After a rainy night, we have lots of sunshine this afternoon. I plan to do online grocery shopping with pickup tomorrow or Friday since I still have some cold symptoms. I saw in the Fort Wayne newspaper that Meijer is going to be offering free pickup during the holidays with a $50 purchase. It says no membership required. I may look that over in November/December since they have non-food items that might make good gifts. I will need to see if those type of items can be included.

Short Fall

With a few exceptions, the trees have not been very colorful this fall. A lot of the leaves turned slowly and are dull and quickly turning brown. Now lots of leaves are on the ground already. My fothergilla bush has lessened the disappointment a bit. This is its second autumn, and it really looks nice this year.

The two small mums I put on my porch looked tasty to a deer I guess. I went out one morning, and most of the blooms had been eaten off the plant.

So it has not been as colorful an autumn as some years.

Next week the highs are predicted to be in the mid-20's and low 30's, way below the normal for this time of year. I sure appreciate my electric blanket that keeps me warm through the cold nights.

Spring Blooms

I was going to wait until after Mother's Day to buy my porch plants, but Meijer had a good deal BOGO half off. A lot of my neighbors have geraniums on their porches, too. In another week or so I will get a hanging plant.

The bush behind the green Victorian gazing ball was newly planted last fall. The fothergilla blooms remind me of bottle brush except they are white. 

I have never had so many buds on my cheddar pink plant. With the hot temperatures next week I expect them to open up soon. I will take a photo to share then. I looked them over closely as I grilled a pork tenderloin after church. We did not go to a restaurant today to avoid the crowds taking mom out. This is my second use of the grill this year (did steak last Thursday).

I was feeling a bit stressed about next week, but after doing some preparations, I feel more calm. Tomorrow afternoon is choir practice, and I was asked to do the devotional. I am going to keep it short since we will be rehearsing all of the music for our spring concert. Tuesday morning there is a dress rehearsal; then at 2:30 we present the concert at the monthly birthday party. 

Wednesday morning I will go to chapel to hear the chime choir as they use and dedicate their new chimes. My sister-in-law plays in that group.

At noon Wednesday is the Winona Literary Club luncheon. Since I am the president-elect I have part of the program near the end introducing the committee members. Unfortunately, there have already been changes, people "unvolunteering". We have no Hostess Committee so right now it looks like there will be no luncheon May 15th, 2019, just a regular meeting. The Hostess Committee members plan and carry out the luncheon. The Literary Committee volunteer also seems to have pooped out. I will probably have to pick up the slack, finding 6 people to do book reviews next club year. I reluctantly agreed to be president because nobody else would do it; I am starting to regret that decision. The future of the club looks doubtful. However, I have decided to make the best of it and have a good 115th club year. The Program Committee has already lined up speakers. That is a relief.

After mid-week, the Winona Literary Club will be on summer break (though I will have some recruiting to do), and choir also will take a break for about 3 months. Looking forward to a less busy time.