Roll Out the Red Carpet

Fall is just beginning to show its colors in the Catoctin Mountains.  The crimson red leaves of the Black gum tree herald the beginning of the parade of colors.  Red is the dominant hue to start off the grand show.

 Honeysuckle berries are a vibrant red, too.

 

The Virginia Creeper vine is a bright scarlet.

Even the late blooming roses add a red blush.

 

Today, I collected a bouquet of autumn leaves with a cornucopia of different colors. Soon, the woods will come alive with not only reds, but bright, golden yellows, oranges, and all shades of tan and brown ~ a burst of autumn brights before the subtle grays of winter. 

 

Fall Colors from Summer Veggies

Our summer vegetable garden provided a cornucopia of color (minus the cornucopia) as you can see in the photograph above! We are so pleased to have so many delicious peppers and tomatoes to add to and spice up our meals. Unfortunately, our bountiful green and yellow bean plants got mowed down by a hungry white tailed deer that came like a bandit in the night and gnawed the plants down to nubs.  At least we were able to enjoy quite a few of the beans for dinner already. I was also able to blanche and freeze a couple of batches, too, which we will savor on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

It was so nice that my initial gardening efforts at our new home were so bountiful.  None of the wildlife seem to like tomatoes or peppers, so we will enjoy them until the first frost later this year.