It’s been an entire month since I’ve been able to sit down and focus on writing anything here. Part of the reason concerned distraction surrounding A Situation, which kept me from wanting to dwell indoors and will be shared in a subsequent post. But most of it has been about a wonderful long stretch of incredibly delightful weather and taking advantage of those fleeting days. It has been all about an exciting run of foliage, breezes and blue skies. But the rains have come, many of the leaves have fallen, the Big Excitement of peak is beyond us now. Thus here I sit, trying to play catch up by gathering some visuals to document the space of a month – a photo dump of weeks, along with a few comments before moving on to Other Things that have been brewing around The Urban Porch.

Over the past few weeks I found myself urging friends to take a ride with me just to be away from the house. While it was enjoyable spending a day here and there soaking up the weather

and admiring the trees while zipping up and down the thruway,

as far as color was concerned, the immediate neighborhood did not disappoint.

There really was no reason to look beyond my own back yard for appreciation.

This Autumn sure has last year’s beaten in the color department.

Even the Crow Tree on the corner, which has been slowly dying off for years, continued to leaf out and turn.

For small local entertainment, The Fence Dinosaur down the street (for those who follow) donned a vampire costume for Halloween.

As we spilled into November, they have dressed him up in Thanksgiving attire as a turkey.

I will add that the couple who keep the dinosaur in fashion year round also did up their place big time for Halloween, where they turned the entire face of the house into a giant monster. Their whole porch became a mouth with jagged teeth and lights turning the interior of the porch-mouth red. There were giant eyeballs perched above the mouth, a smoke machine bellowing dragon smoke into the street, and sound effects. I didn’t take a photo of it, but their creativity was admired and the kids loved it. There were more trick-or-treaters than in past years, perhaps due to the almost balmy early evening. As for Halloween on The Urban Porch, no effort was expended at all. I had given away the scary ghoul and giant spider decor from previous years. Skelly was back out on the porch as usual, holding a fly swatter

and Little Rudi wore his pirate sweater. Yo-ho-ho.

But I had no candy (partially because I eat it all). So I turned out the lights, donned the same old wolf hat I always wear, and left my house with Rudi to go sit with my colorful neighbors on their colorful porch, which was a lot more fun. That was pretty much it.

Over the past two weeks a serious quest for red leafed trees was one of my missions, which was accomplished.

“My Red Tree” – the Japanese Maple in the back yard – probably wins the award for actual redness.

One of the last trees to let foliage go, it is dropping steadily and deep.

Indeed it has been Glorious.

The firebush by the driveway creates a carpet of rose hues.

Trying to soak it all in before it’s over.

There have been a few mornings of frost, which probably contributed to this immobile bumble bee I discovered clinging on a dogwood. I wasn’t sure if it was alive or not. Perhaps it was sleeping, or cold and unable to move until the day warmed up.

Autumnal changes have created contrasting patterns.

Pops of crimson

above and below.

Each year the Gingko biloba drops it’s lemon-hued leaves onto the bluestone sidewalks. Usually there are also round, ripened and rotting gingko fruits on the ground with them, which smell like vomit when crushed – you can’t miss it. But this year I have not seen the fruits and am not sure why. Perhaps some homeowner scooped them up as fast as possible so as not to endure the aroma. Or maybe it is just an off year. It’s been a strange year in many ways.

October and November skies blush, from the waning Hunter’s moon backed by soft pastels

to flaming and riotous sunsets. During a few evenings the sky had been almost pure red, but I don’t have any shots of that in my phone camera. A number of times I’ve gotten notice from someone urging me to “Quick! Look out your window right now!”

Cirrus rainbows (cloud iridescence) appears over the house

and we are treated to almost nightly rosy glows.

Rudi (Mr. Barkety-Bark-Bark) is back in his cool weather sweaters and tee shirts, parked at the window, watching the leaves come down and the foot traffic go by.

Surveying the situation on the back patio, I contemplate some future raking.

Meals of the season include roots and legumes – chickpea/pumpkin/coconut/cilantro stew; lemon lentil spinach soup; butternut squash and yams; crispy roasted brussel sprouts with gnocchi; a medley of earthy dried porcini, black trumpet and lion’s mane mushrooms reconstituted with marsala wine and served over pasta. I have photos of all but my food pics are hardly foodie magazine worthy – as a matter of fact they are downright scary – so use your imagination.

I had my first hot chocolate of the season – Tahini Hot Chocolate – and it was pretty good. If you like tahini I would recommend looking up one of the many recipes out there and giving it a try.

Many of the trees are already bare. The birds have been migrating. I’ve taken the porch pillows off the chairs and stashed them in the attic until next spring. A few plants in pots have been brought into the house. The rest I will let go to the cold.

As I wrap this up, tonight’s sky fades into salmon-hued cotton puffs before the sun sinks below the horizon.

Firmly entrenched into Fall now, we next head into the holiday seasons…not particularly a favorite time for me, but who knows what it may bring. The rain held off here for a good long stretch in the northeast, allowing the Autumn colors to last longer than some past ones. At least it has felt that way, and I’m grateful.

~*~