Fall classic 2, Charlie's

We had the first hint of frost this morning, and not long after sunrise—truth in blogging, I'm no longer able, given this Lyme-induced persistent arthritis, to get up with the sun, but I was on my feet and walking by 8, so that wasn't bad—the temperature bottomed out at 29. That's enough to damage anything really tender, so all the semi-tropical plants had been brought in the night before. But 29 was enough to generate some silvering, so as soon as I'd run through the depressingly long morning routine—medications, a slight bit of food to ward off stomach distress from the pills, bathroom, stretching exercises, a few mouthfuls of coffee, and getting dressed (breakfast has to wait an hour until the pills are fully absorbed)—it was off on the rural route to capture what the frost had wrought. There was nice craftsmanship in evidence, but the better images, I thought, were in the autumn color, which is rapidly reaching its peak. This one, the handiwork of warm days, cool nights, and plenty of anthocyanin pigments, struck me as just about perfect.