Clear Today, Gone Tomorrow

A present from my husband, who knows that the way to a farm girl's heart is not flowers and chocolates

The past couple of days have been phenomenal for November and much appreciated. Yesterday was so warm we opened all the barn doors to let the heat in.

Today the wind is whipping and whining, but it is still warm enough to go out without a coat.

I was hanging up laundry in fact and happened to look up. A twin engine plane flew past with two wind tossed pigeons right below. The plane can certainly move a lot more cargo, but the pigeons were more graceful. 

Then a perfect storm of box elder samaras came swirling down. It was so cool! There were thousands of them, clouds of them, each whirling in its own path to earth.

 Of course this means that next spring there will be thousands of tiny box elders springing up wherever we don't want them. Seems as if by two hours after they sprout they have a whippy trunk that is hard to break and roots that go to Taiwan.  Acer Negundo is not my favorite tree!

It's the burdock of the maple world in my mind.

 In fact the other day when the trimmers from the power company interrupted my Bald Eagle photo shoot, they apologized nicely for taking out maybe a dozen young box elders. I assured them that if they cut every one on the farm my heart would not be broken.

And, as previously mentioned, there would be plenty more next spring. I wouldn't be surprised if you could count hundreds of them out in the hedgerows, around the buildings, in the flower beds, in inconvenient cracks in the foundation....everywhere.

This is NOT an acer negundo, but rather, I believe, an acer saccharum
a much more welcome tree
This piece is hollow and will have geraniums planted in the top next spring.
Meanwhile, NOBODY is going to plow over the garlic bed.

Anyhow, this sweet little interlude of wonderful weather will be interrupted tomorrow by a major winter storm or so the forecasters are saying. Weather wise this has been the nicest fall in decades. I am not ready for it to end. Be safe on the roads this week, please....