I don’t know about my five regular readers, but I think this weather is nothing short of spectacular. I was down at Santa Fe Park Monday looking at some of the new shrubs that were planted this past summer and I noticed that a couple of forsythia bushes have buds and a few little yellow flowers on them. I’m pretty sure that is not supposed to happen in November and I imagine it doesn’t bode well for spring foliage, but I thought it was an interesting occurrence.

The Peabody petunias at Cameo Rose Antiques still are in full flower as well. And for a month or so, there has been a little orange zinnia growing out of a crack where the Peabody Market asphalt meets the south wall. In our yard, anything that looked like it might be blooming took a big hit a week ago when the nighttime temperatures dropped below freezing. I guess the forsythia, petunias, and other downtown vegetation are tougher.

The fall colors also have been breath-taking. Some year I think Kansas leaves a bit to be desired in the fall, but this year has been wonderful. The maple trees around the Morgan House and the library have really outdone themselves and oak trees all over town have more color than I remember seeing in years. And they have lingered for a while, giving us a chance to enjoy this normally brief season.

All the youngsters had a nice evening Friday for trick or treating. Our neighbors over in Florence got much of the same Saturday evening for their annual community fall festival. More than 100 people turned out over there for food, games, family fun, and spooky hayrack rides. Those who attended said the weather was the perfect cap to a perfect evening.

So, now that I have come up with 300 words or so describing our wonderful colorful autumn, you know what comes next, don’t you? Mother Nature will make a liar out of me for sure. You’d all better enjoy this while you can!

— Susan marshall