Leaves Are Changing but the Trees Aren't Too Willing to Give Them Up Yet

 Friday, October 31, 2025

Walked up to Walgreen's today to pick up Halloween candy. 

Dale and I are both amazed how many trees haven't lost their leaves yet. 

Anyway, the colors are pretty to look at. I just hope they're down before they start doing street sweeping and stop doing yard waste pickups. 

I got lots of pictures of what I'm seeing around the neighborhood. 

Catalpa Trees

Thursday, June 10, 2021

We have several catalpa trees on the block and they're flowering now. I love the flowers they produce but their foot long bean pods are rather weird. 

Flowering Crabapples

Saturday, May 15, 2021

The white flowering crabapple trees are looking so beautiful. These are down by the cemetery at the end of the block.

Dale and I noticed how beautiful they are looking while driving by yesterday on our way to Kowalski's. From a slight distance they look like they are flocked with snow. 

Many of the pink ones are dropping their petals. However the one above belonging to a neighbor is still going strong. 

Morning Walk

Saturday, May 1, 2021

Took a nice walk this morning. Already 72 degrees by 10:30. 

Still appreciating the azaleas which seem to be everywhere. One doesn't appreciate how many of them there actually are around the neighborhood until they're blooming. Otherwise they just look like any old shrub. 

Continuing to appreciate the sunshine after such a gloomy April.

I found Warren puttering in his front yard as I walked by his house. His cats said hello to me from inside his porch. 

Neighborhood Cat

Saturday, March 27, 2021

This outdoor kitty has been part of the neighborhood landscape as long as I can remember. She often sits on her front stoop just like you see here; very regally. I've seen her in our yard a couple of times; once with a baby bunny dangling out of her mouth. She's quite the hunter.

Evening Walk with Athena

Friday, March 26, 2021

Lovely, still evening and it's Friday too. 

Vote

Monday, October 19, 2020 

Dale and I voted today. The city set up a dropbox near our house so we walked over during our lunch hour.

Around the Neighborhood

So much is blooming this month. Above are some shots from around the neighborhood. Love the irises. Not sure what the orange and yellow stuff is.

Lilacs

Photo of a neighbors lilac tree taken just a few days ago. According to Wikipedia, Lilacs "...produce more flowers if left unpruned. If pruned, the plant responds by producing fast-growing young vegetative growth with no flowers in an attempt to restore the removed branches."

We had a beautiful lilac tree at the house on Stevens. I remember Mom pointing it out to me when we moved there when I was three years old. After some years it stopped flowering. We didn't realize that pruning the flowers was detrimental to producing more. I pulled off way too many. It remained for many years but Dad eventually had it removed. It was probably more a lilac bush than a tree but we called it that anyway. 

"In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings, 

Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green, 

With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love, 

With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard, 

With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green, 

A sprig with its flower I break."

  -From When Lilacs Last In the Dooryard Bloom'd by Walt Whitman

Signs of Spring

Seen around the neighborhood recently.

Azaleas

The azaleas are out. 

Bird Nest

November 19, 2016

Discovered this nest on the day of the first snowfall.

Peonies

June is here and the peonies have been lovely. The above are a neighbor's from about a week ago. We had pink peonies at the house on Stevens although I think ours were of a lighter variety.

Signs of Spring - More Azaleas

Signs of Spring - Two Toned Lilacs

I love these two toned lilacs of a neighbor across the street.

Signs of Spring - Flowering Tree

Found this flowering tree on a boulevard during my walk home from school this past week. Have never seen this flower before. Wonder what kind of tree this is.

Signs of Spring - Apple Blossoms

Crab tree of a neighbor up the street.

May Has Been Lovely, So Far

Took this photo about a week and a half ago on my morning walk to school. The air has smelled so sweet lately but the lilacs are starting to fade.

Did you know lilac wood is often used for engraving, musical instruments, and knife handles? If not, you do now!

Ant on Peony Bud

Peony Buds

Can't wait for the peonies to bloom. I planted some during the late part of summer in 2012. Deb was getting rid of them and asked me if I wanted them. They came back in 2013 but no flowers. They're back again this year but I'm not seeing any buds. I'll keep my fingers crossed. The ones pictured above are on Warren's blooming boulevard. I remember when my family moved into the house on Stevens so many years ago. There must have been about 10 peony bushes lined up along where the driveway bordered the yard. I remember watching the ants crawl over the buds and, being so young and not in the know about such things, asked Mom why they were doing this. She said they actually helped the buds open and that there must be something on the buds they liked.