A Gorgeous, Sunny Day!

I'm afraid it's the last one for a long while now, as the rainy season apparently sets in. It always does, and there's a lovely, lushness to the winter months. By February some early bulbs and the camellias will start to bloom so the winter feels quite short here. We're likely to have a good week of cold and maybe a touch of snow (and hopefully not an ice storm), but who knows. It's predicted to be a La Nina winter here, meaning colder and wetter. We won't know till we're living it!

We walked at the Hoyt Arboretum again this morning, as is our usual. I brought my camera since the fall colors have been extraordinarily vibrant this year. This is some form of Sweet Gum Tree (Liquidamber styraciflua)  - I'm not sure it's our regular species (not native to here, but to SW US) because the fruits are so long. But it's a Sweet Gum nonetheless, and isn't its color exquisite?

Afternoon spent with the grandchildren - playing in my co-grandmother's warehouse first, followed by a great romp in lower Washington Park.

Hope you all had lovely weekends! Onwards, as they say.