What Passes for Autumn in Tucson

This is the time of year when we start all our phone calls with a weather report.  While my grandchildren are throwing snowballs in Indiana, I am wearing shorts and wondering what to plant in my containers.  They are having a wonderful time, and I don't begrudge them a moment's pleasure.  But in my 8th decade, the warmth and sunny skies make November a much more palatable month.

We do have our own opportunities for leaf peeping.  These two crepe myrtles were planted at exactly the same time, and share the same exposure.  Why one is orange

and the other is red, remains a mystery .

The  Pedilanthus bracteatus (Tall Slipper Plant) on the left lives in a 4' tall planter, mostly shaded from the sun.  The yellow branches need to be trimmed, another sign of fall.  Once it's cleaned up, there will be tiny red flowers sprouting from the most unlikely places.  They set off the little red and white Santa faces I hook onto their stalks.

Yes, we have America's weirdest politics, but it was sunny and 70-something today, with nary a cloud in the sky.  I walked without a sweater, pushing up my long sleeves.  I didn't risk slipping on ice.  And, because it's Autumn in Tucson, there's little chance of rain.

We are in the right place for this time of our lives, messy politics and all.