Change Over

Autumn finally came, and except for weak knees,  I am doing OK.

Fall is usually lovely, but it only lasts for about a week or two, especially this year.  The trees started to change about five days ago, and today big winds came and blew them off.  Easy come, swiftly gone.  However, because of the elongated summer, I was able to enjoy, for an extra month, all the work that Mother Nature did on my gardens. 

Back in May I put some two inch plants into the ground and/or pots.  They weighed a few ounces each. 





Park's Seeds

It rained a lot in Pennsylvania and so with very little help from me, they became these:

                                           

                                          My daughter, my model.

                           It rained so often, cushions seldom were put on the chairs. 

                                               There is a bench under there.

                     Night time on the woods edge (with some help from solar lighting)
 

My favorite cactus

 

 

                                                         .

                                A view on my deck. (if there is room, there is a flower)

 

 

 

 

                                Hard to see, but this is inside my Zen Garden at night. 
 

Yes, I overdo, but I have cut back on the amount of annuals that I have planted in the past. These are a few of my garden areas; most of the remaining are full of perennials that bloom for shorter times in the summer and need less care.

 

 

Now, though, is the time to say good-bye to all these lovely flowers that surround me.  I started dismantling the gardens two weeks ago - very slowly.  What were once small and weightless, are now very large with roots that cling to other roots and refuse to let go.  I know how they feel.  I am down to the largest pots and am promising myself that I will not plant this many next year. 

 

 

I think I remember promising myself the same thing last year.  

 

 

I hope you all have a fun Halloween with lots of visits from gremlins begging for candy, unless, of course, you want it all for yourself. 





 

Being Perfect

Beautiful summer days and I am doing OK.

I was choosing a new picture for my header and I loved this one of a double Hibiscus that I have growing in my garden.  The flowers only last for a day or so but they are a magnificent sight when they just get to full bloom.  I thought it was a beautiful picture to end the month of June.  However, when I enlarged it, I saw that there were spots on it and I hesitated because it was not perfect.  I had a few others to choose from, but I kept going back to that flower.  Sure it might have been a little past it's crowning moment, it had a bruise or two, but it was looking up to the sunshine and was taking in all it could. 

Then there was this cookie I made:

My taste buds didn't notice the broken candy.  It was yummy!



Being imperfect is just perfect!

The View

Some people see the rose, other's only see the thorns, but if you are careful, you can hold a thing of beauty in your hands and be OK.



A person gets up in the morning and sees the sun come up.  He smiles and says, "What a wonderful day this can be!"

Another looks out, sees the sun, the blue sky and in the far distance, a small white cloud.  He examines the cloud for awhile and says that there is a little grey mixed in the vapors and it could mean that we may have rain. After giving it a little thought, he is sure it will be a big downpour with possible flooding and destructive winds.  This could wipe out all the summer crops and the price of food will skyrocket.  People will die from starvation and those that are left will go to war over the scarce resources.  Humanity, as we know it, will end.  Only rats, roaches, a few hedge fund dealers and pessimists will survive.  Good news for him.