“Oh Dear…Where’s Fall around Here?”

Dear Reader:

Just a couple of weeks ago…as October ended….many of you readers consoled me with your reports that fall still hadn’t come to the lowcountry yet and even other areas of the country… so I had not missed out on the leaves and trees turning with all my medical appointments and recliner “incarceration.”

Now we are in the second full week of November and still waiting on those leaves to change and the trees to show off their finest attire. There is a lot of discussion about what has caused this “tardiness” this year….The two main culprits appear to be the drought and the heat wave that stayed on far past its normal seasonal time limit.

Apparently this week is the peak for the mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina….hopefully this means the other areas of the state should be coming into its fall glory… region by region. Vickie and I are still hopeful that Thanksgiving and the last week of November will bring fall beauty to our lowcountry.

Vickie went and found some photos and the dates they were taken from fall 2016 and 2017….the dates ranged from the middle of November to the end….Since we have had a lot of showers these past couple of weeks…hopefully the rain will prove to be the catalyst to set the trees afire with fall beauty.

Look at these exquisite photos from the past two falls…it just makes me want fall to do ‘its thing’ more than ever…I miss seeing these colors. (Several of these pictures come from Vickie’s back yard…gorgeous!)

Fall is very delicate here…it falls softly on Japanese maples and Ginko trees…. this photo takes my breath away…..it makes one feel they are walking on sacred ground…just being near the tree.

In the title photo my  Bradford Pear has only two or three red leaves to date this fall… but its greatest beauty is when it is completely covered in red leaves….as it was last year…photo dated November 29. That is about two and a half weeks away…maybe the old tree will come through again and bring beauty after Thanksgiving.

 I think I am so anxious this year, more than ever, to see the trees turn colors because my limited visionary access to the outdoors only allows me the opportunity to see beauty through my large den windows…and for the last two weeks…the view has been gray, foggy, and the sight of only a green leaf tree with no color.

So until tomorrow…Hopefully the rain ..will be the miracle worker to help the trees’s leaves turn color. Patience…patience…for me to heal and the trees to reveal…the beauty of the earth in God’s timing…not ours.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*The nice thing about gloomy days at home is having bright fresh flowers…to brighten up the day. Thanks Mandy and Eva Cate for this latest bouquet and for all the other flowers given throughout my on-going internment.

*Misery loves company…if your region of the country is also experiencing a delayed fall…do share that with us….makes everyone still waiting feel better.

 

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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3 Responses to “Oh Dear…Where’s Fall around Here?”

  1. bcparkison says:

    The ground under my Bradford pear is govered with yellow leaves but the tree is still full of green???As for Ginko…here today gone tomorrow.. Amazing how a large tree can completely release all of its leaves over night. Looks like some snow may be mixed in with the color in some places. Crazy weather this year for sure.

    • Becky Dingle says:

      Wow….that does sound like some crazy weather…green, yellow, and white…snow…unbelievable….Mother Nature is fickle. As for me I am going to just keep on keeping on….waiting to heal and to see fall revealed.

  2. Gin-g Edwards says:

    I went to NC for a memorial service and the trees were beautiful…

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