As Summer waves farewell. . .

Nothing says fall is coming like an explosion of mushrooms. With the much anticipated late summer rains, they are everywhere, and of such varying shapes and sizes and colors. John took a photo of this image just down our hillside. Never is the role of fallen trees clearer.

Fall planting is, for me, another harbinger of, well, Fall. I looked extensively for a "columnar deciduous tree" for this south-facing space next to our bedroom deck. Oye. A columnar beech was suggested, but I've had experience with those, and they burn easily.

We lost one at the Harmony house after many years, and that was only an eastern exposure. So. When I found out that there's a columnar plum, called Crimson Point, I went for it. It was shipped from Oregon, and arrived in great condition. I planted it the day we received it, and here she is. We've named her Nicole, in honor of another tall redhead. Her leaves have yet to regain total turgidity, so I'm a little worried, but it's also fall, with shortening days and cool nights, so maybe she's just biding her time. I'm hoping that she's putting out roots, and pouring carbohydrates into them as fast as she can, because she'll need to survive some cold temperatures. So now we have Nicole (the Crimson Point Plum) and Olivia, the Cornus kousa. Such a wonderful family we're building.

Along those lines, I sighted a place in the yard where we could plant either a Dawn Redwood (Meta-sequoia gyptostroboides) or a Linden (also called American Basswood; Tilia Americana). I love both trees, but the Linden will be more cold hardy, and the smell of the early summer flowers are highly motivating for me. The Dawn Redwood would be more of a statement tree. . .a living fossil, unusual leaves and form. . .but that all smells of snobbery, no? Well, probably not. Still. I'm leaning toward the linden.

On a completely unrelated note, we traveled to Castine for a day, in part to see this bridge. . .it crosses the Penobscot River, and is really an interesting structure. It has an observatory in the top of one of the support structures, and John guessed that you can see the Penobscot river all the way to the sea from there. We didn't go up in it, because we had Jasper with us. Instead, we opted for a picnic on the very lovely grounds. However. It was the shortest lived picnic in our history. The mosquitos were fierce! All three of us ran back to the car, where we picnicked inside, downing a half beer each (yes, that's where we are these days) and enjoyed our lunch from the inside. Very unlike us, but needs must.

We had hoped to have lunch on a patio somewhere in Castine, but there was none to be had. Patios, that is. Castine is still suffering greatly from the fallout of the pandemic. It was a little bit sad, though clearly a beautiful town. . which also is home to the Maine Maritime academy.

Fall is definitely upon us. The nights are cool and the days are perfect. . . 60's and low 70's. I pulled out the last of the tomatoes yesterday, and the last produce (eggplant and herbs) will be pulled just before our first frost. . .which is not far off. 

Our first year in Maine has been wonderful, in spite of some disappointments, which were far outnumbered by pleasant surprises. In the coming year, we need to explore more. And we should be ready to do so. The house is just about up to snuff, if not perfect, and there are so many things to see here.