[Magdalen] Autumn Splendor.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

I made the trip down the mountain to get my flu shot today.  I  was
surprised by the amount of remaining color, the brighter red hues
coming mostly from late Red Maples, and Scarlet Oaks.  
 
It's late enough that the deciduous conifers are coloring in  preparation
for dropping their "needles."  In my yard there are 40' American
and European Larches (Lariix laricina and Larix decidua) now solid
columns of butter yellow, and the two 80' Dawn Redwoods (Metasequoia
glyptostroboides) are a brilliant red and orange.
 
The buds on my plants in the "rhododendron hell" in front and side
yards are especially large this autumn and hopefully are promising a
spectacular spring display.
 
There's a serene restfulness about November when all this coloration 
is all over and things settle in for the long winter's night.  I'm  already
getting sleepy.
 
 
David Strang.