The Shishigashira out front is one of the last trees on our street to turn colour. In fact some years we get a freeze and snow before it has turned and the transformation simply never happens. Most years, though, it changes to a really bright yellow orange, then orange and red-orange. I snapped the photo this morning. In a few days the colour will deepen.

Because this tree changes colour so late in the season, I see it as an indicator that autumn is rapidly transitioning to winter.

The other winter-alert indicator in our area occurs at the yacht club over at Sam Smith Park. Almost all the boats have been hauled out of the water. Many of them will sit in a yard on the property until spring. Some even get wrapped for the winter. The sailors know when enough is enough.