Persimmon Tales And What's Ahead

Wow is all I can say about the colors across the Tennessee Valley right now. I drove up to Cleveland, TN yesterday to visit Yates Primary School and the drive up I-75 was awesome. The reds and oranges are really popping right now. And occasionally you see purples mixed in. Like in the top photo which was shot by Channel 3's web administrator Suzie Bowling. She says after a long wait, finally there's some color in her back yard! The other photo I took during a walk in the woods. I'm hoping to get out for a hike this weekend while the colors are at their peak.
One of the things I look for this time of year in the woods is a persimmon tree. If you're quiet enough and wait awhile you'll find that's a whitetail hotspot. Deer absolutely love the sweet flavor of persimmons.
I had never tasted one until yesterday. I have always heard they were tasty, and a piece of persimmon pie is a slice of heaven. But watch out for the ones that aren't completely ripe......they are very sour. There are two of the biggest persimmon trees near Channel 3's transmitter. Bob Keeler was working up there yesterday and he talked me into tasting one. They taste like peaches crossed with some other kind of fruit.
Earlier in the day I was talking with Roy Brown who's one of the first people I met when we moved here. Roy said he cut into a persimmon and found a fork. If you're not up on your folklore, fork-shaped persimmon kernels indicate a mild winter. Spoon shaped means lots of snow. Knife shaped means icy cutting winds for the next several months. I told him we have a dilemma. Either his persimmon is right or my hornets are. (See the August 16th post for more on that.)
It's another weekend full of outdoor activities, and the weather will be very nice. But also very warm and mostly dry. Mid 70s today and Saturday with fair to partly cloudy skies. Saturday night and early Sunday we'll see some scattered showers and maybe a few storms. But rainfall will be less than 1/4" in most spots. And there's no cold air behind this front. Numbers stay in the 70s through Wednesday of next week. So enjoy the weekend. If it was Spring or Summer I'd say take some time to stop and smell the roses. But it's Autumn, so take some time to stop and enjoy the colors.