autumn colors

It's that time of year when every minute of the day the colors in the trees seem to be getting richer and more intense. There are a lot of oranges, reds and yellows setting them off in high contrast blue skies with billowing clouds. Washington's best weather is normally during the month of October. Usually it is very pretty with these rich blue skies and big puffy white clouds sailing overhead. The temperatures are mild making everything more comfortable except the cooler nights sometimes means more aches joints and bones. Still it is a great time of year for most people with lots of festivals and exciting things to do and a renewed energy that comes with the beginning of a new school year soon to turn to holidays.

This last Sunday I was ready for a walk to the open house. It was in a kind of landmark of our neighborhood. The remodeled "round house" down the street was built about 100 years ago. Renovation after gutting and an addition to the back which is also round it is now full of light where it used to be all covered up by a big conic roof. It opens out to the small and well preserved garden that added a small lawn between brick paths and mature evergreen shrubs.
Newly wed neighbors, Dan and Peter and my downstairs neighbor Kiley with her pals all arrived at the open house the same time as my visit. Everyone was excited to see this glamorous new/old home and there was a continuous flow of people passing through the many rooms and open spaces. They saved almost all the trees on the lot including about four 40 foot  holly trees and one enormous oak tree that stands less than a foot from the front porch it's towering over the house on the east side.
I took a few pictures on the way and in the house in addition to some of the other walks this week here are some of the autumn views in Brookland.

The front door of the round house remodeled and open to the public; oak tree on the left, holly on the right and rear.

Owner of the round house looking to sell it now came out the door as I was trying to capture the porch ceiling reflections. 

looking from the door past the original gingerbread shingles  at the holly tree trunk and 10th St. NE 

view of the open kitchen/living and dinning room space on the first floor overlooking the garden to the rear

central stairs go up to the 4 bedrooms and two baths on the second floor under a skylight occulis  that fills the well with light

the view of the roof top sky light over the hall stairs

this small bedroom felt like a tree house 

the next street over from ours is lined with these great red maples 

neighbor planted coxs combs along her fence and that was a dramatic color discovery for one walk 

the delicious red maples are blazing this week 

orange-yellow berries on new curb side trees 

Virginia creeper is such a great color everyone should have some it's native! 

Turkey thicket field across from our apartment building hosts a big mature red maple