Backyard View - October 2014

I’m continuing the monthly post of morning images of the trees in our backyard that I started in September. There has been quite a lot of change in October but there are still quite a lot of leaves remaining. There was added drama this month because of a broken branch high in the tulip poplar that had remained awkwardly suspended rather than falling to the ground. About mid-October (image 3 in the slide show below) - it fell. I was surprised that I didn’t hear it fall.

The tulip poplar turns yellow and drops most of its leaves before the maple completes its color change. I’ve done a quick raking on some of the thickest parts of the leaf drop (and pine needles too) because I want the grass to survive. I’ve started taking the leaves into the forest rather than bagging them for pickup at the curb. I used the big branch that fell to make a corral to keep the pile from blowing back into the yard! There will be a few more rakings before the yard slides into its winter mode.