Teaser of Fall to come

It was 56 degrees when I woke up this morning. WOOHOO! I am so tired of the summer heat. I know it's just a teaser and fall is not going to hit NC in earnest for well over a month but even a morning or two below 60 is like manna from heaven for me. I can't wait for the leaves to start changing colors. The photo in this entry is of one of my front garden oak trees. I am one of the few people in my neighborhood that still have big oaks in front of their houses. When Hurricane Fran hit in the mid 1990s, some houses were totalled, literally. Many people had major damage from huge trees falling on their house. I lost a beautiful maple tree which damaged my honda but that was it. The house I grew up in, and where my Dad was still living at the time, had four oaks land on it. Fortunately my Dad was okay and his house was restored. Once the dust settled from Fran, many people went ahead and cut down the remaining large trees near their houses. It was a wake up call that even central NC wasn't immune to a hurricane ripping from the coast and making its way hundreds of miles inland. I will never cut down my trees unless they are dying. I did have to remove one of my 3 large oaks because it was diseased and basically dead. The two that remain in front of my house provide much needed shade in the summar and a splash of color in the fall. Ernesto caused a lot of flooding on the NC coast and some where I live. My front garden is full of limbs but no biggie. I may need help with the larger limbs that are currently draped across my hostas, ferns, and periwinkle. They aren't quite logs but a few are pretty long and heavy. I guess I'll go for a walk or at least give it a try. I haven't been walking in weeks since the additional pain started but I feel marginally better this morning so it's worth a shot.