10/07/15 Weekend Update

Weather has started to cool off a bit. My maples are in fall color, with some of the trident maples losing leaves already. Aaron began harvesting most of his winter squash - he ended up with quite a few carnival squash. He's still allowing the castilla and hubbards to grow. Yep, the same ones growing since August. We figure let those get as big as they can before fall frost comes. Yes, winter is coming.
But for now we're in full pacific northwest autumn. Today was rainy. All day rainy. Not hard rain, but a light, persistent rain. Maybe I'm finally starting to get used to the weather, but I didn't even bother with a rain coat when I went to work. Oh, and it was foggy. Sounds dreary, but it's actually awesome weather. Cool but not cold. Rainy but not heavy drench you to the bone rain. And fog that lingers around the mountains, lending the views a primordial, surreal feel.
So, about my growing projects... not sure what to say other than they're there. The deshojos are still little matchsticks. More butt ugly purple than red still. I dunno, I'm just not into purple leaves. The regular japanese maples had more interestin colors overall. Pinks and reds in the spring, deep greens in the summer, and now turning orange and red. I love those! They reflect the four seasons very well, I think. The regular azaleas are a bit boring. Nothing new there. They just continue to grow. The dwarf azaleas have all come in to leaf very well. Very successful converting home depot stock shrubbery into interesting pre-bonsai shohin. The zelkova I bought earlier is looking really awesome right now. Autumn color of the leaves are a rich, deep red. Absolutely gorgeous.
I was worried about the crabapples because the deer had bitten then down so much earlier in the year. Despite this, they managed to put on quite a bit of growth. Who knows, maybe next year they'll start to flower.
That's all I have for now.