WHERE'S THE LAWNMOWER ??

In Wednesday's newspaper (November 24, 2010 ... Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) there was a small article detailing how the United Stated Department of Agriculture has declared all 75 counties in Arkansas as ... "natural disaster areas". Due to the hot, dry weather conditions the state experienced this year, farmers are now entitled to apply for emergency loans at a low interest rate.

While certainly not a farmer, I have seen & experienced the effects of the dry conditions this year on my own property. I have had several trees suffer severe stress from the heat & lack of rain, so much so that the trees leaves were being "dropped" back in August.

Unfortunately, my largest Japanese Maple tree -- in the ground almost 10 years -- withered & died within the space of several days, despite my efforts to save it with water & reverse it's declining condition.

The only GOOD which was the result of the weather, was the grass slowing it's growth & not requiring me to cut the grass as often as I might normally. I guess I could also sight the reduction in buying gasoline for the lawnmower as a "benefit" of the hot, dry weather.

One "cosmetic" effect of the weather this year was the poor Fall coloring in many of the trees which did retain their leaves. Most of the very large Oak Trees close to my house have produced large quantities of acorns this year, but have looked lousy when it came to any leaf/tree coloration. Well ... "brown" IS a color I guess.

Without Cedar Trees & other evergreens, along with the large groves of Bamboo, the yard is devoid currently of any "color". The carpet of fallen leaves does little -- or nothing -- to make the property appealing to the eyes.

Too little, too late for the farmers, we have finally started to get needed rain. In fact, yesterday -- Thanksgiving -- we had rain ... all day long.

Not only have the creeks, ditches & other non-permanent bodies of H2O filled up -- like "Lake Hilda" in my front yard -- but accompanying the rain was a very fast moving cold front. It was 73 degrees yesterday at noon. An hour later ... 51 degrees.

It kept getting colder as the day wore on, till finally it was in the low 30's for temperatures in the night.

Cold AND damp. Winter weather is here.

What few trees in my yard which did have some colorful leaves, took a beating in the wind & rain yesterday. Above is a Parrotia Persica (common name - ??), which had some nice yellow color starting to show a few weeks ago. The neighboring trees were a combination of either still retaining their leaves, or already having dropped them.

As of this A.M., the tree still retained it's color in the lower part of the tree, but in the upper half, the wind & rain has stripped the branches of leaves & color.

NOTE: This tree has been in the ground since 1999, when I bought it via mail-order from the White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut. I have another one of the same species on the other side of the house. Both have good shape, interesting bark & -- normally -- provide me with nice Fall coloring.

The tree in the above photo is a Japanese Maple - "Bloodgood". The unique thing about this picture is that the color shown in the photo is the actual color on the tree as it was in my back yard just a few days ago. It really had a bright, pink-red color to it.

Well ... it DID have a beautiful color to it.

Yesterday's weather conditions took their toll on this tree's leaves. In fact, yesterday I sat on my couch, looking out the window -- with Precious in my lap, naturally -- watching the tree shed it's leaves as the wind & rain hit it. Sort of sad.

We HAD hot, dry weather this Summer & early Fall. Now, as Winter is just a few weeks away, the rain & cold temperatures have returned, as they do each year.

And ... the lawnmower is in the storage building for another few months.