Dealing with the Disappointment

Our autumn leaves turned out to be a dull disappointment. After waiting an entire year to experience the glory of them and then having them fizzle out, I wanted to know why. I turned to my favorite naturalist author, Edwin Way Teal, for an answer. In his book Autumn Across America, he explained in some detail how the process works – or sometimes doesn’t. I’ll summarize what he wrote. Bright yellow leaves are the result of two pigments, carotene and xanthophyll. These compounds are present in the leaves all summer long, but are masked by green chlorophyll. In autumn the chlorophyll breaks down into colorless compounds, the green disappears, and the yellow pigments shine.

Red and orange leaves are produced by anthocyanins, pigments that are carried in solution in the sap of the trees. These pigments only develop where sunshine strikes the leaves. The presence of sugars in the sap increases its production, that’s why sugar maples are (usually) so vibrant. When temperatures drop below 45°, sugars build up in the leaves and that, plus some sunshine, triggers the development of the red colors. Then as the green chlorophyll breaks down, the red colors predominate. So it turns out that clear skies and brisk weather are the factors that create bright fall colors. Mild, cloudy weather produces dull foliage. Mild and cloudy pretty much describes our entire summer and fall. We didn’t have a frost until mid October and it has been overcast and rainy for months. That’s why our leaves were dull this year. I’m still sad and disappointed about it, but I feel so much more informed now.

October last year.

October this year.

Today.

On Tuesday I was in school all day. It rained off and on all day, but as I was coming home from school, the rain stopped and the sun was shining. I was so happy to see it. There were so many things I wanted to do outdoors. When I got home, I quickly changed into my work clothes and headed to the barn to get the chores done so I could start on other things. The barn is about thirty yards from the house. By the time I got there, the sky had clouded over and it was hailing. I stood in the upper part of the barn for twenty minutes waiting for the hail to stop. The sound of the hail on the metal roof was amazing. When it finally stopped, I finished the chores. The sun came out again briefly and I started for the garden to work, but then the clouds took over again and it began to rain. I gave up after that and stayed indoors the rest of the afternoon. The weather has been so temperamental, changing dramatically from minute to minute.

Wednesday was a cold and gloomy day, but it wasn’t raining, so I went out after school and did some garden work. I dug up my dahlias and gladiolus. I washed them and set them to dry on the back porch This week I will pack them in bins of peat moss and put them down cellar for the winter. They were especially beautiful this summer. I hope most of them survive the winter to delight us again next year. I also planted the rest of my bulbs that afternoon. I planted more tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths. As I buried the last of them in the cold, cold ground, I said “See you next spring.” And that was all for planting this year.

Dahlia tubers washed and ready to dry.

There was no school on Friday and the weather was cold but clear, so I spent most of the day outdoors. I had to bundle up and even then my hands and feet got cold. I mowed leaves. I weed whacked parts of the yard that were overgrown with weeds. I continued cleaning out flowerbeds. I cut down the dead asparagus and the giant castor bean plants. I pulled up the runner beans and picked off all the dried pods. When Josiah got home, he helped me spread straw on parts of the vegetable garden. He also helped me shell the runner beans. The beans are very pretty.

A frostbitten castor bean plant just before its removal.

The garden getting ready for a winter's sleep.

Shelling runner beans.

Pretty runner beans.

I also picked apples that day. The Winesap, Winter Banana, and Caville Blanc apples were ready. I picked six bucketfuls total. Now the only apples left to pick are the Northern Spies. They are ripe. Most of the ones within reach are already picked and only the ones up high are left. We need to pick them soon.

We are in the middle of processing pumpkins right now. On Friday I got out the pressure cooker and processed four pumpkins. I cut them, gutted them, cooked them, pureed them, and froze the puree. On Saturday between Stacey and I, we processed seven more. There are still three more to process. I will work on that this week. There are also twenty butternut squash. I will process some of them the same way this week, but most I’ll store whole and eat them over the next few weeks. We had a good harvest of pumpkins and squash this year.

I had garden plans for yesterday hoping the weather forecast would be wrong. Josiah and I were going to clean leaves out of the gutters, work on hauling more old straw out of the barn, and pick Northern Spy apples. But it seems the forecast is never wrong when it predicts rain, only when it predicts sunshine. All day long a cold rain fell, sometimes it poured. So we switched to an indoor project instead. We decided to change the light in the music room. Rachel gave us a chandelier from her house that we thought would look nice in the music room and maybe give us more light. Josiah and I worked on it together, but I have a morbid fear of electrocution and left most of it up to Josiah. He figured out how to do the wiring and put it all together and then Hannah and I helped him hang it up. It turned out great and the room is much brighter and a bit more elegant looking.

Josiah working on wiring the new light.

The new light in the music room.

The cold weather has brought birds flocking to my feeders. Most of them are the usual visitors – blue jays, various finches and sparrows, cardinals, downy and hairy woodpeckers, and now juncos, but some of them are species I don’t commonly see – red-bellied woodpeckers, pine siskins, and, for several days now, evening grosbeaks. Evening grosbeaks are beautiful, but shy. I’m trying to take some good photos of them, but it’s as if they can sense when I point the camera at them and they fly away. During the cold and garden-less weeks, feeding and watching birds is one of the things that keeps me sane and happy. That and tending to my houseplants.

Evening grosbeaks at the feeder.

Speaking of houseplants, on Friday I was in K-Mart in Wellsville and at the checkout counter there were these sad looking orchids for sale. Most of them looked like they were not long for this world, but one of them looked salvageable. I couldn’t resist rescuing it. It has an impressive name – Oncidesa Hwuluduen Chameleon. It is different from the moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) I already have, but its care requirements are the same. It will bring a bit of flora happiness for me in the cold days ahead.

My new orchid.

My son Daniel was married yesterday. It was a sudden decision that didn’t allow us time enough to attend. He married a girl he’s known for a while. Her name is Raven. They were married in Idaho near Coeur d’Alene. They will be living near Spokane, Washington. My sister Nancy and her husband Bob were able to attend the ceremony. Nancy sent some photos this morning. Daniel tells us they plan to travel east in the spring so we can meet Raven.

Daniel and Raven.

It’s another cold and gloomy day. We’re home from church now. Josiah is working on firing up the wood stove. Lunch is almost ready. After that I will quickly do the chores and then I’m headed for a nice Sabbath nap. Cold and gloomy Sunday afternoons were made for napping and reading by the wood stove. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.