Friendly Fall

Yesterday was a beautiful Fall day with temps in the high 60's and little wind after several days of gale force winds which left many trees looking like this straggler overlooking the Red River of the North.

A few trees along the river walk still had color.

Here is the dike which was built after the devastating 1997 flood which makes us sleep well when the river decides to overflow it's banks in the Spring.

I found one Maple in the neighborhood which was still full of leaves and color.

A few years ago the Park District planted maple trees on most of our block.  They are as pretty as they have been.  One thing I don't like however. They are the last to lose their leaves and those big Maple leaves with long stems come racing down the block toward our house whenever the winds come from the North.  The seasons are a changing on Walnut Street.

Seasons Come and Go

It is already turning colder with 27 degrees our overnight low.  Seasons come and go quickly in our country.  This was taken the last day of March.

Then came apple blossom time with the tree loaded.

And before it seems possible the tree is full of beautiful apples.

We have had a lot of rain this summer and the apples have soaked up the moisture.  I have never had a crop like this year.

They are a tart apple but that is what I enjoy.

The rains have kept the lawns green well into October but hopefully the last two nights of frost will stop the growth till next year.

What do we do with all those apples, you ask.  We give a lot away and make apple sauce, eat them raw, and my favorite, make maple syrup apple crisp.  Yummmy!

I saw Mr. Squirrel (yes, they are back) running with an apple that had fallen from the tree in his mouth.  I guess they like apples too.