Fall Is In The Air

 

After a long, dreadful, snow filled winter…western Washington then suffered thru a long, hot and dry summer.  But fall is definitely in the air here.  The rains have come and the leaves are not only changing color but are falling to litter yards and clog storm drains.

Saturday, October 17th we traveled 125 miles south to Vancouver, WA. for a memorial service for the husband of a dear friend.  The family had been our neighbors back in the 1970’s and even after they moved to Vancouver, we’ve remained close.  Bob graciously drove my son and I thru pouring rain for what proved to be a 2½ hour trip.  It was a miserable drive but we were glad to be there for the family.   It would have been useless to take pictures going down because the rain was so heavy that the windshield wipers could barely handle the deluge.  But on the return trip the sun came out (will for most of the 2 hour ride) so I dug out my camera and took a few pictures.  For those of you who live in areas where there is no change in colors at this time of the year, I wanted you to see just a glimpse of nature’s handiwork here in western Washington.

The first two pictures  shows the gray sky trying to be blue.  But you can also see how the deciduous trees are becoming lighter compared to the darker green of the Douglas Fir trees.

 

 

Now here is some beautiful blue sky and white fluffy clouds and the Douglas Firs certainly stand out from the other trees that are in the process of turning color.

Even with the heavy rain we’ve been experiencing the last couple weeks, the temperatures on the other hand have remained very mild.  Usually in the high 50’s to low 60’s. 

I noticed today a few blossoms coming out on a very confused rhododendron.  It normally blooms in April so this is strange.   You can also see in this picture the damaged leaves from the summer heat wave. The hot sun literally cooked the green leaves.  The poor thing, I hope it makes it thru the winter.

  

Happy leaf raking, until next time………Linda