Three for Thursday: Signs of Autumn

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
 
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

-   Emily Dickinson,  Nature 27 - Autumn

I may have missed Garden Muse Day last week, but I certainly have been welcoming the arrival of October. After a consistently hot summer that lasted well into the end of September, October has been a welcome relief with cool nights that turn into pleasantly warm, sun-filled days.  I can finally believe that autumn is here to stay.  Sure signs of autumn's arrival:

A softer sun . . . Unlike the summer sun that seemed to penetrate every pore of my body as I tried to work out in the garden, the October sun provides a comforting warmth.  Morning, afternoon, or evening--I can work outside anytime I please!

The fading garden . . . While some blooms remain, much of the garden is already turning to seed, preparing for its winter sleep.  Even as some goldenrod waves its yellow stems in the autumn breeze, the early goldenrod has turned to a brown fluff.

A few late Susans still show their cheery faces . . .

 . . . but most have turned to seedheads, bobbing amidst the asters.

Only the skeleton of Joe Pye remains.

Colors of Fall . . . The leaves are just beginning to turn.  This morning I noticed the very tip-top of my maple has a few orange leaves, but a few trees in town have already put on their autumn finery.

The pink and red flowering crabs are not very attractive this time of year and have already lost most of their leaves which turned a dull brown before falling.  But the white flowering crabapple is full of ripe red berries,  favorite treats of the birds in the winter to come.

Red berries against a clear blue sky--can anything be more perfect than an October day like this?

"Just before the death of flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season
When nature is all aglow."
-   Author Unknown

Thanks to Cindy of My Corner of Katy for the inspiration for "Three for Thursday."