scarlet

November 25, 2015

May I show off my town a bit?  Everyone thinks California has no seasonal color, but we have a lot of it! My town of Los Altos has hundreds of Chinese Pistasche trees lining our downtown streets, plus thousands more throughout the neighborhoods.  The colors change from gold to orange to red from October through December.  The bright leaves stay on the trees for what seems like months. It's pretty spectacular.  We have a large one in our back yard and it sports all three colors at once before it finally goes entirely scarlet.  During the summer they are marvelous shade trees.  While the Chinese Pistasche and tall red maples secure that Los Altos will have plenty of fall color, we're flush with the native California Live Oaks, immense redwoods plus the olive and apricot trees that are part of the valley's agricultural past.  I love my town.

To my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving!  I know many of you reading this right now might be smelling the roasting turkey.  I love Thanksgiving Day!  Besides being a graceful celebration, it ushers in the holiday season and all the beauty, love, and hope that surrounds it.  And this season, I imagine we're all going to be seeking that out, more than ever.  I hope you are surrounded by those you love.  Peace.

The corner of Main St. and Third St. looking towards San Antonio Road.  See the clouds?  We got some rain!

State St., looking towards Wells Fargo Bank, Costume Bank on the right.
The same corner of Main and Third on a sunny day.

Third St., walking from State to Main.


Even the parking lot behind Main St. is spectacular!


The parking lot behind State.

Not a Chinese Pistasche, but one of the many maples on Los Altos Avenue.




These little dudes snuggled on a bench under a red blanket while waiting for mom to get out of the shop.


Not all of the trees, but many of them, get these nut-like berries.  Our tree gets them and the squirrels love them.

Here's my favorite store!  Uncommon Threads on State. St.


On Second St., looking down State.  Uncommon Threads on the right.

The tree in my back garden always gets color a bit late--it's just starting to turn but it will be scarlet too.


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6 Comments

  1. I have visited New England in the Fall and it was spectacular. A truly memorable holiday but I had no idea that the Autumn colours reached California too. Your town looks beautiful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and to all those you hold dear from a little corner of Scotland.

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  2. It's so pretty! I can imagine knitting a sweater in those colours

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  3. I never knew! Thanks for your town tour.

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  4. You've captured our fall color so beautifully! I also love it when the leaves fall off and all the trees are decorated with tiny white lights! We have one of the prettiest towns in California.

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  5. Those red and oranges! I'm in love. :D

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  6. Wow! Spectacular indeed! Your town is truly pretty - I'm so glad I got to explore it with you a few years ago! Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

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