East Texas Autumn

The glorious season of Autumn has arrived in East Texas. We usually have something like a \”default\” season of summer. That is, every few days, or maybe even a week, the weather turns hot. But this week we are enjoying the cold nights and warm days.

Even some of the trees are turning  pretty reds and oranges. The photo above is of our Japanese persimmon tree behind the professed dormitory. We have several \”American\” persimmon trees. Their fruit is almost heart shaped and must be soft to eat, if you do not want your throat to close up because of the unripe astringent elements in the fruit. The fruit of a Japanese persimmon, on the other hand, is a squatting square, and stays hard even when ripe. Having the two kinds of persimmons makes it especially important to know which you are eating, or you can be in for a very unpleasant surprise.

We have a cute little family of tree frogs living in one of the flower pots next to St. Joseph by one of the entrances to the professed dormitory. When the days are warm they are out looking for food; when the air turns cold, they are back for a snooze in the leaves and dirt. This one is at the very top of the door near the ceiling of the porch. This is one of the Parents\”, about 1 inch long. The baby is only 1/2 inch long.