Black Friday 2011: Fall goes out with a Flare

Aside from the freak snowstorm last month, most of November has been wonderfully unseasonable, with some days reaching the high 60s. I've either been stuck in an office or busy on the weekends so I couldn't get away to enjoy it. Thank goodness for Thanksgiving breaks.

I grabbed one of my little friends (see her there in front of the glowing ginko?) and we flitted down to the New York Botanical Gardens to revel in the glories of a beautiful Black Friday away from family, malls, crazed shoppers, and, in some parts of the gardens, crowds. I managed to spend exactly $0.00 the whole day!

IT WAS GLORIOUS! I have proof. Look!

The gardens suffered a lot of damage this year, from various ice storms, Irene, and then the October snow storm. Nothing goes to waste. It's all part of the cycle of a forest. Personally, I think cross section of a tulip tree this would be a glorious coffee table. (Full disclosure: I did bump up the sat levels on these few so you could see what it would look like with some stain and varnish.)

More glories: There were still lovely roses - but more on those in a later post. The trees and branches that came down created some interesting effects.

Below: If you walk by logs too fast, you miss the catching a glimpse of a squirrel's cache. Doesn't this mossy log look inviting?

Reflections on the day: The sun goes down too quickly now. By 4:00 p.m. the sun hits a low angle and temperature starts to drop. You can't store up enough Vitamin D. Speaking of stores: This is the closest I've come to turkey for two Thanksgivings and Black Fridays now: those wild fowls that keep an eye on the shoppers behind the gift shop.