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All of the banner background photos on this site were taken by Whitey.
Above is a close-up of the bark of incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) in winter.
Signs of mid-fall: bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) in peak fall color in Oregon's West Cascades, contrasting with the dark Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and deep blue sky in the background.
The transition from summer to fall here in the maritime Pacific Northwest is a slow one, due to the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean. So changes proceed at a relatively reasonable pace compared to, say, areas with a more continental climate.
Nonetheless, there’s a lot happening, from woolly bears—the larva or caterpillar of the Isabella tiger moth—crawling across forest roads; to fall-blooming camellias; to black-tailed deer bucks rubbing their antlers on forest saplings as the “rut” begins; to all of the changes in foliage color in deciduous trees and shrubs as the growing season’s green chlorophyll in their leaves breaks down, revealing the other pigments that were concealed by the chlorophyll all summer. Phew!
In my garden, I picked the last cucumbers about two weeks ago—which are still keeping nicely in the refrigerator—and still have tomatoes ripening outside the kitchen window. The vines that climb the lattice there, however, are now covered with a sheet of clear plastic to create a little more warmth during sunny days and retain some of the warmth into the night—as well as to protect the vines from the cold rain that is falling now with increasing frequency. There is still plenty of chard and parsley. Plus carrots, leeks, winter beets, and Belgian endive in the ground which I haven’t yet started to eat.
I “harvested” three frames of delicious comb honey from my hard-working honey bees, but left the rest of the honey to tide them over through the winter. I have a very strong hive and could have probably taken off an entire box (i.e., ten frames) of honey, but I decided to go easy on “my girls” this year just to ensure that they’ll be okay through the winter. (All the worker bees are female.)
Soon it will be time to pick persimmons again.
And Life goes on!
Signs of mid-fall: not quite the final harvest yet of tomatoes (here, 20 October), but getting close! These beauties (cultivar 'Early Girl') make a beautiful "bouquet" on my kitchen counter with a low autumn sun shining in through the south windows.
Signs of mid-fall: the first significant snow in the High Country of Oregon's Cascades dusts the upper slopes of the Three Sisters volcanoes in eastern Lane County. Photo taken 16 October is from Lookout Ridge near McKenzie Bridge. This area was visited by the Lookout Wildfire on 2023 which opened up many vistas that had been "obscured" for years by dense green conifers.
Signs of mid-fall: in Eugene, strawberry "trees" (Arbutus unedo)--a cultivated shrub native to the Mediterranean region and related to the Pacific Northwest native called madrone (Arbutus menziesii)--both bloom and ripen fruit simultaneously (!) at this season. The tiny, creamy-white, urn-shaped fallen flowers in the photo (taken 20 October 2025) will eventually mature into strawberry-like fruits almost a year from now. The fallen fruits here are the result of flowers that bloomed LAST year in mid-fall. It is HIGHLY unusual for a woody plant to bear both flowers and mature fruits at the same time. (By the way, the yummy-looking fruits are indeed juicy and edible, but . . . they have little taste. And so it goes.)
(This page updated 25 October 2025.)
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