While We Were Gone...

I've been taking a daily photo of the house across the river to capture the gradual change of fall colors. This was started in fact before the flood over a month ago when there was the first hint of the earliest maple trees turning. By playing them back as a movie in an animated GIF file, it would be cool to see the color change sped up.

So we were gone for 4 days to South Carolina and wouldn't you know it - the change pretty much happened while we were gone! As we flew into Chicago we were amazed by the colors as we landed in O'Hare. And sure enough, the shots before we left, and this morning's shot shows a huge difference. So much for the careful planning...

The other two shots are a couple taken around the house. The first is of a couple ash trees south of our house. Even though the weather was clear and warm in our absence, a lot of leaves came down carpeting what little lawn would grow in the deep shade there. I haven't heard yet from the boss (Melinda) if we are doing any raking before we leave for Tucson in a couple weeks. My suspicion is that they certainly won't all be down by then, but a leaf fire will add a touch of fall to the air.

The other shot is towards the north, showing the pavilion where we had the wedding reception this summer. Note that just to the right of the cabin on the ground (click photo to enlarge), that is not a rock or yard ornament but Bruce, our resident groundhog! He was out early, posing for me this morning! St Charles is just at about the peak in fall colors right now. It is really stunning to drive around town - something that I've really missed the last few decades in the southwest.