Your Neck of the Woods

Our "Fransred" Maple always puts on a beautiful Fall show.

This Staghorn Sumac glows a bright orange every Fall.

This year, to date, the trees are just beginning to turn their Fall colors.  And, we are in what is traditionally known as Indian Summer.  

I was rather curious where the term originated and found the general definitions:  "It is a warm dry period after the first frost or freeze."  The term was first in print a couple of centuries ago and it is from North America.  As you might guess, it is supposedly from a period when the North American Native Americans harvested their corn.  That is termed a "guess" because it was never recorded.

Obviously, if you must have a freeze/frost first, the term doesn't get much use in the South.  Since its first publication, it has been used by authors and weather enthusiasts as a colorful description of this meteorological event.

For those of us looking towards cold and snow for several months, it's one of the sweetest weather related treats!  Some things you might want to accomplish during this bonus period:

• Clean the leaves out of your gutters.
• Put away summer yard things.
• Clean the porches and decks one last time.
• Plant Spring flowering bulbs.
• Add a layer of mulch to your beds.
• Have a cookout.
• Pick any flower that's blooming and bring in the house for decoration.
• Put your Christmas lights up (remember how much fun it is to do this when it's freezing?)
• OR, Sit outside and do nothing but enjoy the warm days and stars at night.  

It's above 80 degrees and we're headed out to an outside birthday party tonight and a cookout tomorrow afternoon.  Oh, yes it's time to celebrate Indian Summer in this household.