A GARDEN WALK on the First Day of a Wet AUTUMN 2021
Autumn 2021 finally arrived on September 22.
It was a wet and windy day – totally overcast – with a high of 65 deg. F -- and 97% humidity.
According to a radio report – the rain was accompanied by mist and fog -- well there was no fog -- as far as I could see in and around Jefferson Park – but there was a little mist in the park.
Today, the sun, if you could see it behind the clouds, rose at 7:13 a.m. and set at 7:24 p.m. – because of the autumnal equinox -- gave us nearly an equal day and night of 12-hours each.
From now until the start of winter (December 21) – the days will keep on getting shorter. Then until the start of summer 2022 (June 21) – the days will keep on getting longer -- and then shorter again -- and then longer again -- ------ in an endless cycle in a mysterious universe.
Our house faces the south side of Jefferson Park.
It is one of two houses – among the nearly 60-houses that surround the park -- that has double lots. The second house with a double lot is our neighbors. Both lots are vacant – no buildings – only trees, shrubs, flowers, squirrels, and birds.
In fact this layout gives our house a unique position – a viewer in the park – looking south -- would see a vacant lot on either side of our house -- one belonging to us and one belonging to our neighbor.
We have flowers growing out of vines, flowers in pots, and also wild flowers.
Sometimes I take a walk – I call it a garden walk – it takes me past all our trees, shrubs, flowers in our two lots and also great views of the park. The walk takes about five minutes. I repeat it multiple times – so I can walk for at least an hour.
Today, because of the rain and water ponded all over our concreted areas – I walked for about fifteen minutes – pausing to take photographs for this post.
The walk takes me from the front of our 2-car garage (no cars – I am car-free and also being a former New Yorker have no license to drive) as I walk on the concreted walkways and our driveway to Cooley Avenue, make a left on our sidewalk – walk to the end of the property line, back along the sidewalk – to a little past our property line, and back on the sidewalk – and then a left on our driveway –up to the front our garage – and back again – till I have walked for an hour.
The walk is very refreshing – I don’t encounter any bicyclists or dirt bike riders driving with impunity. It is very much like a solitary walk in a private garden. A total joy!
The lead photograph is a composite of four views.
Each subsequent view has a corresponding photograph.
1. White autumn clematis growing wild out of vines all over the double lot.
2. Black locust trees growing wild in the double lot. They are an invasive species.
3. Miniature marigolds growing out of pots.
4. & 5. Orange cosmos growing out of pots to heights of over 6-feet.
6. White geraniums growing out of pots in our front porch. There are nearly a dozen geranium plants of different colors. Before the onset of frost – I take them upstairs to our sunroom where they flourish in the winter to return back to the porch in spring.
7. A miniature mulberry tree – starting to change color -- growing out of a pot at the entrance to our front porch.
8. Miniature maple trees -- starting to change color -- growing out of pots sitting in the middle of our driveway.
9. Jefferson Park – looking north showing the twin maples – that will start changing color – starting in October. Please note the mist in the park.
10. A crab apple tree in our front lawn. The crab apples are very small to be seen in the photograph. The tree got bent during a late winter storm – that destroyed many trees and caused heavy damage.
11. Our hedge in the background with small black locust trees in the foreground.
12. Our two apple trees. We had a bumper crop this year. I have never tasted the apples before. A few weeks ago – I started tasting them. The apples are like golden delicious – not very sweet but sweet enough.
13. A wild Michaelmas daisy plant. This is the second flowering. The first one was in early spring.
14. No shortage of planes going overhead – they punctuate the garden walk.
15. A tall wild thistle plant with white flowers.
16. A sunflower – one of the few remaining so far. There were about six at the peak of the season – again all growing out of pots,
17. A young ailanthus tree also known as Tree of Heaven. We have a few growing along our driveway.
18. A wild pokeweed shrub with dark berries. We have a few shrubs all over the two lots.
19. A young catalpa tree. We have a few growing along our driveway.
20. & 21. Zinnias growing out of pots.
22. Giant marigolds growing out of a pot.
23. Another species of giant marigolds growing out of a pot.
24. This photograph shows Smokey (left) and Gingy (right) – mother and son -- and my constant companions by the flower pots. Galena, our golden retriever with a curly tail, their good friend is watching over the foliage from her Rainbow Bridge.
Note: Because of the rain, some of the photographs were taken on earlier walks.
Enjoy the autumn!
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