As I start to type this post, it is 12:48 A.M.

I had finished watching the TV show “The Walking Dead” and had faded into my dreams of zombies and how I would survive in the zombie apocalypse (“with flying colors” for those of you interested and I could write a nice little dissertation on it too). A typical Sunday night for me.

But then I awoke to sound of some creature howling in agony right in our front yard. It sounds (and I use the present tense because it is going on live as I write this) like the combination of a wounded owl and a rabid dingo. Or maybe a rabid dingo eating an owl. Or possibly an owl trying to notify us all that there is a rabid dingo on the loose. Whatever it is, it started out as terrifying (especially when zombies are fresh on the mind) and now is beyond irritating. I cannot sleep so I’m writing a post hoping it will help me tune out the hybrid creature.

So with that as a backdrop, here we go.

It had been a few days since I paid attention to anything out in the garden, so I took some time out on Sunday afternoon to catch up. My football team, the Oakland Raiders, were embarrassing themselves yet again so it was time to put the NFL to bed for the day. There were plants to review, analyze and coddle so off I went.

The first stop was a pleasant one as I looked upon my Clethra ‘Hummingbird’ lovingly as it is showing the best fall color in its history:  

The yellow colors have never shined brighter and it actually stands out right now like it never had in previous years. Sweet.

The colors on the Barberry shrubs are also fantastic right now and may make me rethink the option of chucking these next year:  

I am not the biggest Barberry fan but the deer do leave them alone. We’ll see if I change my mind come next spring. For now, I’ll enjoy the fleeting unique hues.

The fall color on the various geraniums has been tremendous this year and has held up longer than it has in previous years. The color on ‘Espresso’ has been phenomenal in year two and I’m leaning towards adding some more next year:   

My Viburnum ‘Aurora’ finally came into its own this year as I managed to successfully hide it from the deer. That includes its wonderful autumn color which is at its peak right now:

Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ continues to provide bloom color into November thanks to my decision to pinch them back severely back in June:   

More solid fall color with the Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’:

While it pains me to say it, the Poison Ivy color is fantastic. I have plans to eradicate this very soon (rash be damned) but I can still enjoy it while I hate it:  

It was a super windy day, so the ornamental grasses were dancing away:

And the Butterfly Weed was spreading its seed to parts unknown:

Well that was a nice distraction. The creature is still carrying on but I am going to attempt to go back to sleep and ignore its whimpers.

Wish me luck.

John