New England Roadside

 

A warm fall afternoon.

Days are shorter...it will be time to rake the leaves soon.

Wander about New Hampshire

CATHEDRAL OF THE PINES
Rindge NH

Bell Tower at the Cathedral in the pines Women's memorial
devoted to American Women’s service and sacrifice.

TARBIN GARDENS
West Franklin NH

Fall is beginning with cooler temperatures and shorter days.

The night air is cooling to near 32 degrees.

Time to prepare the gardens for their winter nap.

You can't always stop......to take a picture!

I have to thank Kim over at kitchenwindowbirder.blogspot.com for posting this picture on her web site. I have wanted to pull the car over on the highway every morning and take a similar picture of 5 or 6 turkey vultures who roost in the tops of trees standing in a swamp. The State Police frown on that. I tried to think of some hair brained emergency that would allow me to pull up next to the guardrail so I could snap a few pictures but nothing came to mind.

I'm guessing they were hunkered down looking dejected waiting for the rain to stop and the sun to shine just like the rest of us.

Just in time

I went out with my camera to "catch" some garden photos.
Because I knew Frost would pay a visit real soon.

This past weekend was a perfect cool 45 degrees to work in the garden.
I pulled up some lily-of-the-valley that was unchecked for way too many years and cut back the peonies and hosta. But I couldn't stand to cut down the Marigolds that had provided color after everything else had stopped.

The Elephant ear is a tropical plant. Frost came and kissed her last night.
I'll cut down her large trunk that has doubled in size and is as large as my thigh. I'll uproot her gently and shake off the dirt from her roots and place her in a box. The box will be put in the root-cellar where its dark and cool. This is our second year with this plant and she had babies about 5 new shoots.


Everyone who comes in the driveway always asks about it.
Next spring we will try again to see if she'll grace the corner of the house.

It was 28 last night and most of the plants got some frost bite.
I'm hoping a few of the hardier ones are still good to harvest.

Fall Bog Trot

A warm November lunch break took me to the bog.

This pitcher plant is filled with water and nutrients it caught.

Another hiding in the grasses.

Lichen grows in abundance on the tree branches.

A little Color

Bittersweet: maybe because it is pretty but also invasive.

Sugar Maples glow right before undressing.

A U T U M N

Very soon the wind and rain will come

a great affair

with swift precision

the trees will be left bare.
Just their bony skeletons will remain.

In a funk....

This is it. This is all I took a picture of.
Nothing is grabbing my attention.
And I am refusing to submit to taking pictures of colored leaves.

Did summer cheat us of a month or two this year?
I just need a couple more warm days.
This week has been cool and partly cloudy.
Hopefully I'll SNAP OUT OF IT !

Bittersweet

Jacki-Boy enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Jacki-Boy enjoying the late afternoon sun., originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

Jacki is such a sweetie. He was sitting pretty in the afternoon sun and I thought...great picture. Of course, as soon as I got within range he fell over. Natural cat reaction I suppose.

White Oak Leaves come tumbling down.

White Oak leaf on Moss, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

With a little rain and wind all the oak leaves are finally on the ground. I have raked twice already and now the lawn is no longer green but brown with a super thick covering of leaves. I hope to get lucky enough to have a great big wind gust come up and move them for me. Wishful thinking! I really do love to rake.

Top of the Acorn

Top of the Acorn, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

Moss

Moss covered Oak Trunk, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

Feather Moss up close, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

Mosses have no roots, but instead have a rhizome. They do not need a substrate to grow, but absorb water and nutrients from the atmosphere. The rhizome tends to be fuzzy, this helps the moss absorb water and nutrients.

Moss relies on living in dense, compact mats to obtain enough water and nutrients. Within the moss mat, particles from the environment mix with water and create soil.

Moss is adapted to drought conditions. During the summer, its metabolism can slow down to almost zero.

Moss does not only grow on the North side of a tree. Moss will grow wherever there is an adequate amount of moisture and sunlight.

This information found at http://canopy.evergreen.edu/

Acorn in the Brook

Acorn in the Brook, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

This little nut got stuck between a rock and a hard place. The water is moving fairly quick but the acorn is snugly stuck.

Wild Strawberry with a Light Frost

Wild Strawberry with Light Frost, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

Frost has come to our region. Most annual plants have been killed by it. And most mornings we are now scraping it from our windshields. The temps go down just below freezing at night and most days are 40 to 60 degrees. The leaves are still falling and there remains a lot of raking to be done.

Monarch on purple

Monarch on purple, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ~Jeffrey Glassberg

Farm Field

Farm Field Foliage, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

One of my favorite roads home through hills and valleys and past this lovely farm. None of the black Angus cows were near the road but the fall colors were there. I love this time of year. Brisk air and warm sun on your back, great for being outside.

Harvest time at Spring Ledge

Rural America. A handmade rustic wagon and an ancient tractor parked at the farm stand caught my eye.

The days are getting shorter...

Savor every moment!!!!!