The sky was interesting this morning

Nuts, mostly acorns I suppose, popped explosively under the wheels of the car as I toured the grounds this am. It has cooled off again and rain is forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday. We're doing a big planting project today, all the gardeners, horticulturists, and curators. We did it last year and it forced us all into making some decisions and planting some plants. We've got a number of interesting Asian maples and some oak cultivars. Quercus dentata pinnatifida, Q. dentata 'Carl Ferris Miller'. Acer tegmentosum 'Joe Witt', is a regular tegmentosum except that instead of being striped, the bark is a ghostly white in the winter. That ought to be quite an effect when the trees get some size. We've got some Pinus armandii grown from seeds from Carole's trip and a few Euptelea pleiosperma, and a miscellany of odd plants. I know they (the plants) will be happy to get into the ground.