Johnny come Lately

The leaves of the birches and maples have been slowly drifting to the lawn for days now. The burning bush is showing its flaming red leaves and the climbing bean vine has shrivelled in the latest assault from Jack Frost. Then came a few snow flakes falling today. Is winter about to terrorize the warmth into hiding?

But amidst all the doom and gloom of autumn's nippy temperatures, there are still a few bright spots in the garden. If you look for them you will find a few late comers still gallantly holding fall at bay.
The potentilla's masses of blooms have closed up shop for now, but there are still some hardy golden petals to brighten a corner or two. Even though it has been a constant bloomer, the potentilla is not about to give up. Here are a couple of yellow flowers; not too far away are some pink blossoms as well.

The Shasta daisy usually blooms with a riot of colour in the summer. After that it takes a break. A bloom or 2 may manage to show that the battle is not over. Here's a lonely soldier daisy that has not given up yet.

Lawns keep growing in spite of the cool weather. Maybe because the soil holds the warmth longer than the air and the lawn has a closer relationship to the earth.