The leaves are turning in New Jersey and finally it's a bit cooler.

Ruth n Jersey

Ruth n Jersey

Well-known Member
Location
Northern New Jersey
I was looking out of my front window today and saw a very sight change of color in the leaves of our trees. I was so happy. I don't last long in the heat and humidity of summer. This past summer we had a lot of humidity. Our AC has been off for the last couple of days and the windows are open. The stores have pumpkins and chrysanthemums for sale. A bit to early for me to buy them but it is a change of pace. My annuals are looking a bit sad. I have seen Halloween costumes on sale as well which I think is ridiculous. I'm sure the Christmas trees will be up shortly in all the stores and I know I'll be so sick of it before the holiday arrives. For now I'll just enjoy the coming of fall. Anyone else enjoy the fall and changing of the seasons?
 

I enjoy fall and spring, summer and winter are a little too intense for me.

The staghorn sumacs have started to turn orange and red.

I want to plant a few bulbs in the cemetery before it gets cold.

I agree about the stores rushing the holidays. I suppose I'm just as bad, in my own way, I start squirreling away little treats and extra groceries for Thanksgiving and Christmas every time I go to the store. I learned that from my mother and my grandmother when I was growing up. I don't really need to buy much at this point in my life but old habits are hard to break.
 
Fall, IMO, is the nicest time of the year. The temperatures get mild, and the trees turn all sorts of vibrant colors. We're already getting some leaves in the yard, and about a month from now, I will be giving the leaf blower plenty of use keeping the leaves moved away from the house. We probably have at least 50 large trees within 100 yards of the house, so that becomes a major Fall project. I grind a lot of them up with the riding mower, and that helps put some good nutrients back into the grass. About the only thing I don't enjoy about Fall is having to blow out the gutters every few days so the downspouts don't clog up....but I've got a long wand for my leaf blower, and it makes quick work of the job....and I usually get covered with damp or wet leaves, etc.

Then, as soon as the daytime high temps start staying in the 60's, I will get the chainsaws out and start harvesting the Winter firewood for our big outdoor wood furnace....I've counted 18 big dead trees, so far, and that should give me plenty of wood to save a bunch on the electric bill.
 

Ruth n Jersey said:
I was looking out of my front window today and saw a very sight change of color in the leaves of our trees. I was so happy. I don't last long in the heat and humidity of summer. This past summer we had a lot of humidity. Our AC has been off for the last couple of days and the windows are open. The stores have pumpkins and chrysanthemums for sale. A bit to early for me to buy them but it is a change of pace. My annuals are looking a bit sad. I have seen Halloween costumes on sale as well which I think is ridiculous. I'm sure the Christmas trees will be up shortly in all the stores and I know I'll be so sick of it before the holiday arrives. For now I'll just enjoy the coming of fall. Anyone else enjoy the fall and changing of the seasons?
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I am with you Ruth. I am so glad the hot weather is not here right now but it's going to be 82 here on Monday. We will probably have a cook out. I love Autumn and the cooler temperatures and all the colors of the season. It's my very favorite time of the year. I still have my Christmas lights on so I'll be turning them on soon. I have already had them on...lol...:)
 
Don,we fought with gutters and downspouts for years. Replacing them with larger ones, adding grates that got clogged, nothing helped. Finally the hubby had enough. He took off the gutters,replaced the trim that was full of holes from the gutters. Replaced the mulch in the beds around the house with red rock. The siding stays clean and best of all no more cleaning gutters. We have a basement and it has been 4 years since he removed them and we haven't had a water problem. Some people said we might.
 
You're lucky Ruth. It's been hotter than a June bride in a feather bed here. Gets up to 100 + ºs most days.

Can't last forever though. I feel cooler when I see the Christmas adverts all over town.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
Don,we fought with gutters and downspouts for years. Replacing them with larger ones, adding grates that got clogged, nothing helped. Finally the hubby had enough. He took off the gutters,replaced the trim that was full of holes from the gutters. Replaced the mulch in the beds around the house with red rock. The siding stays clean and best of all no more cleaning gutters. We have a basement and it has been 4 years since he removed them and we haven't had a water problem. Some people said we might.
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Yeah, the Fall gutter buildup is a nuisance, but I finally found a series of long tubes I can attach to my backpack weed blower, and that cleans them out quickly...albeit while getting me kind of dirty from all the leaves and muck I blow out. I tried a couple of different styles of gutter guards, but all that did was allow the Springtime pollen to build up in the gutters, and create an even bigger mess. When we had this place built, I brought in about 12 dump truck loads of creek rock, and built the driveway with that...plus, I put about 10' of creek rock completely around the house. I did that primarily to create a "fire break" around the house should there ever be a forest fire here that starts the grass on fire in the Winter. The creek rock keeps everything clean, and doesn't break down like limestone would...or leave a white dust on the shoes that would be tracked into the house. We too have a full basement, and I've had to fix a couple of minor cracks that developed as the house settled, but nothing major.
 
I haven't noticed the leaves turning color yet where I live, but I know they're starting to turn in the mountain areas. I love the fall season and cooler weather too, spring and fall are my favorite seasons. We not only get leaves from the city trees in our gutters, but also big long pine needles.

Luckily we have a ranch house, and we're still able to get out the ladder and clean them out manually several times a year. Everyone I've talked to that had those gutter guards weren't happy with them, so I'm glad I never shelled out a lot of money for something that didn't work. We'll be headed to the higher elevations next week on a camping trip, so we'll be able to enjoy seeing some aspens changing color.
 
Wish we had the pretty fall colors here in Houston. Still in the 90's right now altho we are promised some 80's soon. Would love to live some where you had definite season changes. Our leaves just fall off and really don't have a color change.
 
It cooled off abruptly a couple of days ago, and felt like we had gone directly from summer to winter. But today it's back up in the 80's again. As long as it doesn't reach the 90's, I'm happy.
 
It's getting nice and cool here in the mornings, but we're still getting in the +100 degree range in the afternoons. I'm really looking forward and ready for Fall. Hopefully we'll get a rain shower that'll help put out all the fires around us. Lots of smoke in the Northern Valley these days, does make for a pretty sunrise though..
 
Our leaves are turning here too, but it's from our high temps, we're miserable! 90 today on Labor Day! Give me a few months and I'll be whining about the rain and cold temps, never happy
 
There is an episode of "Family Guy" about the New York City, "leafers". They come from their high rise canyons to see the beauty of changing leaf colors. And yup, we get 'em around here in Northeastern PA. It's the first off ramp in PA from NYC on 80. Gladis and Stan out for the day, marveling at every tree, driving 15 miles an hour. When you're behind them, because you can't pass on winding roads; you can actually see Gladis mouth the words, "Look, Stan, another tree. Slow Down.":):):)
There really are "NYC leafers"
 
It is interesting that people feel the need to look at the leaves in other parts of the country instead of staying home and enjoying the leaves in their own backyard.

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Our leaves are dying right on the trees, and falling without changing color at all. This has been happening since mid August. Even the pines are losing their needles and there are dead brown patches everywhere. Today was warm, 80+ and tomorrow will be close to 90. But August has been much colder than normal and Sept. is colder too so far.
 
Aunt Bea said:
It is interesting that people feel the need to look at the leaves in other parts of the country instead of staying home and enjoying the leaves in their own backyard.
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Bea, at least in my part of the south we have very few trees that turn bright red, mostly the colors are yellow and orange, and they don't all turn at the same time. Leaves on the poplars, for example, are almost gone before the others turn. Plus there are a lot of pines mixed in the woods. If you leave out the reds and mix in some greens, it just isn't the same. That's one thing I kinda miss about the north.
 

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