The Color of Oak Leaves

Oaks don't have the reputation that maples do for fall leaf color, but the wild oaks in our area are gorgeous, too. The leaves can be brown, but they're also rust, gold, orange-brown...

and a spectacular scarlet.

Thank goodness the oaks are here since the maple leaves have fallen. (This photo is from last week.)

Other colors in my woods include the rainbow leaves of raspberries and blackberries and a burst of yellow from grapes.  What a beautiful time of year!

 

Falling for Autumn

This time of year may be my favorite. (Wait. Do I say that when the daffodils bloom? Or when I pick the first tomatoes?) This is the view from my front porch this morning. There are no mosquitoes!

But there are plenty of slugs.  I should be eating this bok choy instead of the slithery critters. That is the Fork of Death. I use it to pick out the slugs because it's just too gross to touch them.

Even the revered maple leaves are holey (or holy?). I wonder if the slugs did this. This is the worst they've been as long as I've lived here. Next year one goal is to cut back on the slug population in my garden, but the weather conditions will probably be better for a different kind of pest. No worries--I'm a prepared gardener with my arsenal of organic remedies. Whatever winter doesn't kill, I'll be ready.