Ginny, I was just today thinking how it's Columbus day weekend and most of the leaves are still green. I can't say I'm not enjoying the weather though. Today was humid, but I thought overall the weather the last week and a half was spectacular! I have such an awful lot left to do, and since I'm envisioning myself out in the blustery late fall cold and rain, I kind of like working out in this warm weather while it lasts.

I will say, though, that this is the first year since I've been gardening that I'm not sad to see the season end. It's been a rough summer garden-wise, and I'm looking forward to getting the garden shut down - not to mention planning for next year, lol!

:)
Dee

Seeing as we had no real spring (as I recall we went from late snow & cold right into the thick of things) we probably won't have a nice fall either. Just one of those badly timed years.

I hope we get some good weather soon to plant bulbs and do cleanup. My beds aren't near ready to be cut down yet though. It helps so much in the spring when the beds can be put to bed nicely in the fall. The 60's are my favorite gardening temp, but this might be the autumn of 70's and 40's. ugh.

Well, at least we're finally getting some rain...too bad it's coming on a holiday weekend...I'm not complaining though after the summer drought. It really was humid today...felt like mid-summer weather. My patio furniture never did dry out today after the morning dew/fog...not a dry seat in the garden all afternoon. I scored a dump truck load of maple tree prunings yesterday though so I'm still in a good mood. The tree trimmer had already ran them through his chipper but we'll run them through ours so they're smaller pieces...I like getting the maple trimmings this time of year 'cause the green leaves are still there. We'll pile it underneath this fall's chopped leaves and will have a lot of good stuff for the garden come spring. Not raining here yet but the air is so thick you could cut it with a knife!

Well you know what? I was thinking the same thing today. I am not a warm weather lover either, really, particularly if it's humid. And I wanted to get an earlier start on putting the garden to bed, but oh well. Thankfully some things were ready to be cut, and I cut them, but I cut other stuff today, too, (ditch lilies and some iris) because ... I WANTED TO. I'm tired of looking at it all and I want to put it to bed.

But you know what? I'm saving a heck not having to run my furnace ('cause it could just have easily been unseasonably cold and thus expensive).

And, I love sleeping with the fan on. Well, like TriciaE said, at least we'll be getting some rain.

Just got around to reading the morning paper (at 9PM, lol!) and there was a blurb in it about how all the leaf-peeping tourists are coming to New England but that everything is still green, due to the warmer weather. It also mentioned that the other extreme is that because of the lack of rain, some leaves are just dying and falling off, not even turning color.

I noticed that this year, my lawn is already quite covered with dead leaves, while my oak leaves don't usually come down till November.

Figures it rains on a holiday weekend...

:)
Dee

I just got back from an outdoor wine tasting at a nursery in Clinton and a great seafood dinner on a deck on the water in Westbrook. You're all right, it's humid, warmer than normal, green and the garden still looks too good to start hacking back but before you know it we'll be stuck inside for months so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Sue

Leaves do not "turn" because of weather, they "turn" because of diminishing daylight! It's related to cholorphyll and how it reacts to available sunlight!

Thanks Chelone. From what I was remember from school, you are correct.
Ern :)

> Leaves do not "turn" because of weather, they "turn" because of diminishing daylight!

I know this is true, though I don't know if it's been proven by controlled experiments or if it's just been deduced. So, why are they staying green so long this year? It's a fact that the leaves are behind schedule, and it seems a safe bet that it has something to do with the weather.

If it were strictly a matter of available light, the leaves would have turned already, regardless of the warm weather this fall. Temperature indeed plays a role in this process, as do other factors, such as moisture. As Yogi Berra once said, you could look it up! With the Sox out of the race, it's a good distraction on a rainy day.

Rain, rain, rain!! HOORAY! We are expected to get more rain this weekend than all summer long. The birds are going nuts, the lawn is going nuts, the plants are going nuts, everything seems so HAPPY! This summer was truly a challenge and I agree -- bring on cold weather!

So, instead of doing my plant inventory/placement stuff today I'll hunker down with some good tea and many catalogs. At this point, I don't care if it's a holiday weekend, it's raining!!!

Martie

I love the warm weather. It can stay like this for as long as it wants as far as I'm concerned. I barely tolerate winter, so I'm thankful for the long stretches of warm weather.

I was in New Hampshire yesterday and they were water sking. The only signs of fall were the poison ivy on the sides of the road.

Ron