Changing Colours Usher in New Season

As if on cue, the second week of October has brought the first real hint of fall colours to the Chester area. Among the first plants to show their “true colours” were the sumacs which, when backlit by the autumn sun,  glowed with a wide range of reds – blending subtle shades of scarlet, crimson and burgundy.

These colours were followed within days by the lemon yellows, the peach tones and the scarlets that form the autumn dress of the hardwoods that make up a large part of our boreal forest in Nova Scotia.  The colourful palette created by the stands of white birch, trembling aspen and maples that are tucked in among the deep greens of softwoods like spruce and pine, enthralls painters and photographers alike.

Below…surprise…a lovely spider’s web was spotted early one sunny morning, with the spinner resting and watching at the centre.

As if in response to the sudden appearance of colourful leaves on the trees in the countryside, brown-eyed susans and other autumn-flowering annuals were flaunting their bold hot colours in local gardens.

But, in contrast to autumn’s vibrant autumnal reds and golds, a healthy cluster of white morning glories sprawled defiantly atop a trellis.

While, in keeping with the season, a local nursery’s display signaled “Harvest Home”.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian viewers!