It's October 1, aka "the day it starts being hard to keep track of what number photo we're on," and we're officially into Fall here in the Northeast US. Accordingly, it's a bit chilly (about 30F colder than a week ago), and while most of the leaves are still green, we're starting to see some changes:
The first fall colors from the maple tree out front.
That's the top of the maple tree next to our driveway, which is always one of the first trees in the neighborhood to turn colors and drop its leaves. (The giant oak in the back corner of our yard, on the other hand, will hold most of its leaves until well after the last regular leaf collecting service from the town...)
Still no sign of the really excellent cider donuts that usually show up at Hannaford this time of year, though. Damn it.
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We're very tiny maple producers, and only on a home scale. I boil the syrup down on the back of our woodstove, and collect the syrup from old plastic buckets. Our operation is stone-age compared to our more serious neighbors.
It isn't hard to spot the aphids in this picture:
tags: Norway Maple Tree, Acer platanoides,
It's a cold day here in Lake Woebegone southeast Michigan. I'm looking out the kitchen window at the thermometer: +11 F, which is apparently the same -11 C. From my kitchen table, I can see the neighbors let out the dog, who seems unfazed by the cold.
I have that problem as well. The explanation I have had is that the town DPW employees, who also do the leaf collection, have to be (re)trained on their snowplow routes. Considering that we have had major snowstorms before Thanksgiving in two of the last four years, it's not an entirely unreasonable position for them to take. Fortunately, I do have space in the back yard to dump those leaves.
One of the vendors at my local farmers' market had cider donuts this week. Alas, next week is the last one of the season.
Best cider donuts were once found just north of Billsville, at the Applebarn. Hoping that hasn't changed over the years.