Seaside Autumn

Fall on the colder island is more subtle than the quintessential New England Autumn. Because the trees that predominate here are oaks (thus the name of our home town - Oak Bluffs), our foliage does not produce the blazing reds and oranges of the sugar maples farther North.
















Oak leaves stay green until November and then they turn a rather drab brown. They have produced a bumper crop of acorns this year and I am told that this predicts a cold Winter. We do have some leaves worth peeping at: the Beetlebung (known as Tupelo in the South) turns a brilliant burgundy at this time of year; Virginia Creeper and Poison Ivy are also bright red. It gives me an evil chuckle to see clueless city dwellers picking the pretty red leaves with white berries! The Beech trees on the hilly North Shore moraine will be coppery yellow.



The sun is lower in the sky creating a beautiful light which seems to enhance the variations in the color of the marshes.



Because there is much less traffic, we are free to dawdle along the roads and appreciate the beauty which we miss during the Summer. We have harvested the last of the peppers,tomatoes and winter squash and soon we'll put the garden to bed under a coverlet of seaweed.


There are a few brave roses left in the garden, but the beach roses have left rose hips behind for jellies.














Goldenrod and asters are blooming and island porches display hardy mums in many colors.





























Among our last visitors are a few dallying Monarch butterflies; they should be fluttering off to Mexico before the frost catches them.



Our beaches have been deserted by swimmers but fisherfolk are still there casting for the last of the bluefish and stripers. Scallops and clams can still lure some into the chilly water.


Some are made melancholy by Autumn - thinking of the Winter to come, but I love this subtle season.