Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Early Winter Colors in New England

The beautiful colors of our hillside are quickly disappearing and taking on the earthy natural shades of grays and browns that appear in early winter. The weather has been unseasonably warm and taking walks has been so enjoyable. There has been no need to be overly bundled up.



I like how the hydrangea flowers in our front yard look against the faded tones of the mountain behind it.


Ragweed makes so many people's lives unpleasant but in the fall when it goes to seed it adds a certain interest to the landscape.

Up the hill from our farmhouse, the rosehips will be food for the birds all winter long.

There's been so much on the radio lately about the invasive nature of bittersweet. I especially enjoyed Laurie Sanders piece on WFCR's Field Notes which you can listen to as a podcast here.


Now that I am aware of this, I can't help but see bittersweet vines all through the hillsides around here. It's too bad the plant is so invasive because it does add some color to the November landscape.


Here's another nasty weed that the birds spread around! The dark purple and wine colored berries look so beautiful against the tan shriveled leaves. It is so hard to get rid of though and I fight with it constantly as it seems to have invaded my perennial garden.


Right outside my back door, I planted a shrub called Beauty Bush. It never looks like much until very late in the fall. Then the skinny branches are covered with little purple berries.


There have been so many lovely sunsets this past month. When I see one happening, I yell for Julia "Sunset happening!" We run up the road or drive if it looks like it is going to disappear quickly which they so often do.

I think she is starting to notice them finally and maybe appreciate all the colors as the sky deepens and goes dark.

Enjoy the colors around you today.

7 comments:

Virginia G said...

Lovely sunsets! I like the purples in those berries also.

Today was the first day in NYC where I actually felt cold. Upon walking out the front door I determined that I must get myself to the yarn shop and buy yarn for a big wooly scarf.

Willow said...

I see beautiful yarn color combinations in these photos!

Rose said...

I've noticed the sunsets and the sunrises also. Just beautiful. BTW, I bought your Quarters Cap pattern today! Adding it to my Christmas knitting projects. My blog can be accessed by emailing me at knitblogger@cox.net. I've had to go private due to an ex-husband :( But I've linked you!

ColorJoy LynnH said...

The photos are wonderful today, especially those sunsets. Breathtaking!

My father used to call blueberries "purpleberries" because they looked purple to him. He never saw a Beauty Bush, I would guess.

Always love your blog, whether knitting or nature photos. Thanks.

Vermont Designs said...

Your black berries look like Pokeweed. I had one mysteriously appear three years ago in a flower bed. The plant grew to be enormous! At least 6ft tall and spreading. Had to relocate it this year, just yanked it up and threw it on the ground, where it flourished. Amazing.

I'm gonna tell Mom! said...

Beautiful photos. Inspiring as always. I have taken a few in a wild grassy field (no mountains here in central Indiana) of the goldenrod, milkweed and Queen Anne's lace that look very much like some of your pictures. There is so much to be appreciated around us if we just take the time to notice! I love that you shout "Sunset Happening"!

kim

technikat said...

Thanks for your lovely picture of color. I too, try to appreciate each lovely sunset. We often have pastel sunsets.

I think the black berry weed is pokeweed. It really is invasive. I had one plant grow to about 8 feet. I had left it because I didn't know what it was. Big mistake! Now there's pokeweed all over my yard. It's a perennial so it's hard to get rid of.

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