This is the first day of our school district's "fall intersession" which means I'm off work until October 12th! Hooray! It was definitely worth going back to school a couple of weeks early this summer to get some time off now. October is one of the best months of the year in eastern South Carolina. The weather is usually perfect--warm days, cool nights, low humidity, bright blue skies. Autumn color in the trees is just starting to show, and won't reach its peak until mid November. The first frost is likely still a month away.
The annual Fall Plant and Flower Festival is at the Pee Dee State Farmer's Market this weekend! After I finish up this blog post and take a shower, I'm going out to have a look at some of the trees and perennial plants offered for sale. It's a good time of year to plant, and we want to find a small tree for our front yard. The little dogwood that's currently there is succumbing to some sort of disease, and 3/4 of the branches are totally dead. I haven't had the heart to chop it down yet, so I'm hoping that buying a replacement will be the motivation I need to go through with it. Cutting down trees, even for the best of reasons, makes me sad.
The new tree won't be a dogwood, but we're not sure yet what to choose. We're thinking of a crabapple, one of the larger varieties that will grow into a good size (but still smallish) tree. They're pretty during spring flowering, summer fruiting, and in fall when the leaves turn colors, and better yet the birds and deer will appreciate the new food source. We're trying to make our small property as attractive to wildlife as possible so a crabapple seems like a solid choice.
If nothing interesting is available at the market today, Gregg and I will probably take a day trip to a tree nursery on Monday to look around. I have several projects for the house I want to do next week, too, stuff it's hard to get around to after work and on weekends when basic maintenance and chores have to take priority. Also on the agenda is lunch with a couple of my retired (lucky) friends, Paulette and Marian. I haven't seen Marian in a minute now, so it's going to be good to catch up with her!
I'll leave you now with a few pictures that were shared of the Fall Festival on the market's Facebook page. I should have some of my own later this afternoon!
Enjoy the day, friends.
40 comments:
You're right about the weather. It's perfect for getting yard stuff done, new planting beds in, and tidying up for winter!
Beautiful pictures!!!!! And after what yawl been through, you could use a break from the madness.
Happy tree hunting! And what fun photos! I like all the Halloweeny ones, plus that shot of all the peppers in their baskets.
The pictures are great. I love Fall colors! Enjoy your break!
I am sure you will find a good tree for your garden, but your remark about not having seen your friend Marian in a minute puzzles me.
Oh how I love these kinds of events!
It's just an expression. I meant I haven't seen her in quite a while!
Fall is my favorite season for all of the reasons you mentioned. The weather is nicer, the humidity is down, and the sky is blue. I wish we had a fall intercession! I don't have any time off until Thanksgiving! But I still plan to enjoy the weather. By the way, I am doing okay without Murphy. I still miss him a lot, and I go through my weak moments, but those "moments" are happening less and less. I guess it is the process of grieving. Enjoy your time off.
What beauty and bounty! I hope you've had a wonderful time and found the perfect tree to plant. Enjoy your time off. Lord knows you deserve and need it.
I looked around the local farmers market store today. Parking was impossible; the spaces were filled with displays. Only one handicapped spot.
What a great looking market. Halloween is on its way.... I'm not a fan!
I want to go!
Hope you enjoy your time off but can rest and relax too!
Wow! How lucky to have a festival like that in your area! We had a flowering crabapple tree growing up, and they are very beautiful. It gets my vote!
The colours in the pumpkins are glorious! We don't have such variety here.
A pretty crabapple sounds like a very nice addition to the garden
Love the photos. How pleasing are those capsicums?
I wish you success with your tree hunt Jennifer. Maybe you've got one by now? I wonder if this is an optimum time for tree planting?
fantastic fall colours!
It's a good time to plant trees around here. Unfortunately, there are no crabapple trees to be found locally. I think we'll have to order one online.
It's good to hear that you're hanging in there, Michael. xx
I really love all the pepper varieties and hope to grow more next year. I only had jalapenos this time around, but my four plants produced a bumper crop of them!
Apparently no one around here carries crabapples. One Asian man selling fruit trees with his little son at the market told me he had never heard of them! Can you believe that?
The parking was pretty bad at ours on Saturday, too. I parked a good distance away and walked rather than fight for a closer spot. I'm not sure how many handicapped spaces there were, but it's a nice market so there are probably plenty.
I love pumpkins, squash, and gourds this time of year! So pretty!
I love the gentle colors of autumn here in South Carolina. It's subtle, but very nice.
Come to SC in the spring and we'll go together!
Just look at Halloween as a chance to get in touch with your inner child and have some seasonal fun! Candy apples, popcorn, cider, hayrides, bonfires, and maybe a spooky story or two!
I remember a neighbor of ours having a crabapple tree when I was a little girl. We used to play under it and try to eat the apples. (They're very bitter!)
I'm doing plenty of resting and relaxing. That's the number one priority!
It's a lot of fun, although I always feel bad that I don't buy much from the vendors.
Isn't Fall a great time of year? :) Thanks, Bonnie!
I like the skeleton picture!
Thanks Maddie! It's good to see you here! xx
October really IS nice in South Carolina, weather-wise! I love the gentle colors in the landscape this time of year.
Our "fall intercession" (we call it October Break) comes at the beginning of next week. I don't remember American schools taking a break in the middle of fall when I was a student. Is this a new thing?
Crabapples are beautiful. The "viney tree" on our street that I tried to save was a crabapple.
Our district is doing a "modified year round" schedule. They chopped two weeks off our very long summer break and added a week off in October and another in February. It's a bit unusual.
I love all the oranges and yellows in your photos, pumpkins are so beautiful. It is fun picking out a replacement tree, crab apple will be pretty. I have a red magnolia that might do for your yard too. Another tree I like is jacaranda, I hear they have smaller varieties now.
That barn /hall has wonderful architecture
It's a really nice market space!
I'm afraid that we're going to have to order a crabapple tree online, which takes away the fun of picking out the specific tree I want. It's either that or decide on a different tree altogether!
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