It has been many years since I have had my “fall foliage color” fix. I took for granted, as a child, the blazing colors of fall in Southern Ontario. Maples, birch, ash and others turn to red, orange, purple, gold and even lemon-lime. What an exquisite scene.

I could not make it make to Ontario, so southeastern Oklahoma was the answer.  Driving the 57-mile Talimena trail between Mena, Arkansas and Talihina, Oklahoma was quite an experience. The stunted red oaks on top of the trail were brilliant red. Sweetgum, blackjack oak, elm and hickory added shades of orange and gold. Red Virginia creeper climbed up tall green pines. The view from the mountaintops where there was not fog, because of the rain, was beautiful.

Down in the valley, there were stands of wild asters and goldenrod providing more color. As we crossed the Red River and returned to our great state, all was green. Maybe we too, will have beautiful fall foliage this year as well. I can only hope.

It had been a cloudy day, but the sun peaked out from behind the clouds as we came out from a Memorial Service for one of the most incredible women I have ever known.  I knew then that her work would go on. 

Suzy Peacock had directed the Rainwater Charitable Foundation for seventeen years.  The goal was always to help urban low-income children have a better life.  In 2003, REAL School Gardens was founded to design, install, maintain and use school gardens as outdoor classrooms.  Today the foundation supports 66 schools in North Texas. There are more than 40,000 children and 2300 educators going outdoors daily using nature to learn art, science, math and other subjects.  Parents, grandparents and the community around these schools are all involved.  Time after time, there are stories of a child who struggles in a regular classroom, only to come alive when outdoors. 

Suzy had the vision and was the guiding light of the project.  She was passionate, always striving for excellence, so evident in the hiring of those who will now carry out her message.  No one who knew her could escape being touched by her warmth and wisdom. 

She will be missed so much.  If you believe, as she did, that school gardens can make a difference, contributions in her honor may be made to REAL School Gardens at http://www.realschoolgardens.org/en/index.html.

In the middle of a most delightful two-inch rainfall this morning, the first cormorants of the season landed on our lake and proceeded to go fishing. They had great success. Another diving duck that we could not identify landed a bit later. The seasons are changing. The hardy aster is in full bloom, milkweed bugs are back in full force and the tropical hibiscus is blooming and looking better than it has all summer. The Malabar spinach is growing so rampant it reminds me of kudzu. The red, orange, yellow and green peppers not only taste good, they look quite colorful in the garden. There is more color in the garden now than at most times of the year.

This week we will put out our organic fertilizer on all planting beds and turf. With all the rain we have had lately (and no one here in Texas dare complains about that!), we have had some problems with brown patch. My husband has become a real believer in the product called Actinovate, a biological fungicide, to take care of the problem. I am going to plant some Liberty snapdragons – I will use them as cut flowers later on. Even though we have brought in a few pansies and violas in to the stores, I am going to be patient and wait at least to the end of the month to plant. I know we are not completely done with the heat.

But meanwhile, tonight we will sleep with the windows open….