What a long, strange summer it’s been. The calendar says it’s October 10, but temperatures are still in the upper 80s here in eastern North Carolina. So I’m still in shorts and flip flops. As of today, we’ve had only a handful of mornings with just the slightest touch of chilly fall air.

That’s the long part of this summer. The strange part? Despite the summer-like temps, my maple tree is already shedding leaves. Leaves that haven’t really changed color other than to turn a little brown or slightly yellow. No brilliant reds or oranges this year. Does a really wet summer mean poor fall foliage? Is Hurricane Florence responsible?

It’s officially been fall since September 22 (First Day of Autumn), so I’ve bought a few mums to make my outside décor more seasonally appropriate. I should put my begonias in the mulch pile, but they’re still blooming and it’s hard for me to pitch a pretty plant. For now, fall and summer are co-existing around my house.

Same story with my hardy ferns. They might look a little strange next to my fall door wreath and the pots of orange mums I’ve arranged on the steps, but I’m not going to put them in the garage for their winter hibernation until the first frost. Whenever that will be. November? December?

As I write, Hurricane Michael has hit Florida. The forecast here is for lots of rain tomorrow and Friday. We don’t need more heavy rain, but the good news is that we’re promised lower temperatures once this weather system passes. Day temps in the low 70s. Night temps dropping down to the upper 40s.

Can I believe this forecast? Could fall weather finally be arriving?

Even though it’s felt like summer for all of September and almost half of October, fall activities have begun. To read about my autumn schedule, click on this link to last Sunday’s column in the Rocky Mount Telegram: http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/Patsy-Pridgen/2018/10/07/Summer-lingered-but-fall-activities-arrived.html