Autumn Begins

Summer walked away with nary a backward glance and autumn swept in with rain and wind that drove yellowed leaves onto the ground.

A short halt in the raindrops beguiled us into a walk around Rithet's Bog. Water depths are building and the ducks have returned. 
 

Tall yellow grasses, fat round rose hips, and the above berries color the landscape. Would any reader know the name of the above tree/shrub? I've been looking on line without success.

edited to add: Thanks to Karen, a friend and reader from Washington State for emailing me yesterday with the suggestion of Hawthorn - yep, that's what they are! Shane from New Zealand also knew what they were. Thanks!

Linking to Mosaic Mondayhttp://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.ca/2013/09/mosaic-monday-red.html, hosted by Mary of the Little Red House.

A Garden Visit

August sped by without a visit to Butchart Gardens, and I wasn't going to let September go the same. This morning, clouds covered the sky. Rain is in the forecast for the weekend. I decided to make the most of the moment and go.
 

 

There was a lot of summer colour left, and the vanilla scent of heliotrope wafted upwards. The Rose Garden, not as lush as in June, still had blossoms a-plenty. 

 

But the move to autumn has begun. Leaves are sparse on some trees, others are coloured.
 

Some borders have been planted with warm-toned mums and others blooms, like the orange above.

 

The structure of the garden is beginning to show through the thinning foliage. Even a flower's seed head has an elegant beauty.
 

But my favourite flower of the visit - this pretty pink rose dangling down from an archway. Carefree, she seems to say, "Autumn's coming and that's just fine!"

To make up for my outing this morning, I'll be finishing up the laundry, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming and making soup. And I think there will be a little autumn decor inserted here and there. Happy Friday to you.

Between

There`s not much time left in summer. The cosmos on my kitchen windowsill are dropping pollen everywhere and it`s time to pitch them. We're in that in-between stage when summer has a hard time leaving and autumn is impatiently waiting. Summer, you've been so lovely. Have a good rest. We'll see you next year.
 

Did you know that brass and other warm metals are coming back into fashion in home decor. That's a good thing, although my brass-toned lamps have graced the living room all through the silver-colored nickel stage. Sometimes I think interior decorators are in cahoots with retailers to insist that we all need to have the latest decor or we risk looking "dated" - oh horrors! 
Today I brought out the brass bowl from Ecuador and placed in it the fabric apples I made last year (see the sidebar for the tutorial.) I'm tentatively putting out a few autumn themed items, although I never go overboard. But I'll give a nod to the season.
 

Speaking of between, have you read this book? Dear. Me. I loved it, but you'll notice the box beside the book. Make sure you have one handy. I cried and cried. In fact, I hardly slept that night for thinking about the book. Which is quite ridiculous because it's "just a story."

Beautifully written, but tragic. For me, it brought to the forefront the agony and desperation of infertility, the stories we tell ourselves to justify our actions, and finally, the quiet redemption that does not bring restoration. Would I recommend it? Yes, but keep that box of tissues handy. Have you read it? I'd love to know your thoughts.

 

Vee's Note Card Party - September

It's time for Vee's Note Card Party - held once a month. Lots of great photos there and lovely people to visit with. 

This month I'm featuring dahlias. They are such great flowers to have in a garden because they bloom and bloom - for several months - dying off only with the first frost. Hopefully that's a month or more away for us.

When we moved into this house 11 years ago, Pat and Wendy lived across the back fence. That first day, they handed over a plate of lemon bars, which led to many more conversations. And they grew dahlias. Rows and rows of them. They supplied several florists in town, and often handed bouquets of them over the fence. It was because of them that I because interested in growing dahlias.

During the two years we lived up Island, Pat and Wendy moved away because of Pat's health. He later passed away. I don't know where Wendy is living now, but I never look at a dahlia without thinking of them and their kindness.

The photo above is the only one previously posted on my blog, and sadly, it's the one dahlia that I lost last winter. I'm going to look for a replacement because I love the watercolor effect on the petals plus that gorgeous deep color.

Thanks once again to Vee for hosting this linky party.

Listening to Nature

Yesterday afternoon, thunder rumbled a warning, "Hurry."

So I did. But I still arrived home from my walk drenched and in need of a change of clothing.
 

This morning, the clouds whispered, "Soon."

So I went into the garden and picked two bowls of tomatoes, 8 squash (butternut and delicata), a huge basket of basil, a few carrots, and a cup or so of raspberries. I tore vines from the ground to place in the compost bin, closed one side of the tomato house, and ate a few small blueberries.
 

"It's coming," drowsed the bees sleeping soundly in the dahlia. 
  

So I clipped a bouquet of cosmos, 

and one of dahlias. Ready or not, Autumn is coming soon. Are you ready?



 

Doors and Windows

Donna, who hosts the monthly Personal Photo Challenge, suggested doors and windows as this month's theme. I took these photos at a national park, Fort Rodd Hill, with its gun batteries and lighthouse. The photo above is of a small equipment locker up on the hill beside the range-finder.

A view from the lighthouse over the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains of Washington State beyond. I was a little miffed to see the edge of the stroller (yellow) in the photo. Not very good composition.
 

Catches today are often prosaic and boring. I love the graceful lines of this window catch in the lighthouse.

This door and handle has patina from years of use and weathering. I believe it was taken at the munitions storage room.
 

Lastly, windows in the Lighthouse. I like the symmetry of the pair of matching windows and the contrast with the tiny arched window in the lighthouse itself.

The photos were taken with my Nikon Coolpix 7100 on the outdoor scene setting. It was a bright day and I compensated for that by going down a couple of notches on the exposure compensation dial. 

 

 

Check the Calendar!

I'm going to rant a little in this post. All over blog land (and in stores) I see a rush to decorate for fall, cook for fall, dress for fall. Um, has anyone checked the calendar? Autumn begins officially after the Equinox on September 22. It's not fall yet! Not while we can blow bubbles on the lawn.
 

Not while we can dress in our little tops and wander down a pathway enthralled with stones, acorns, and yellow lines.
 

Not while we pick late-crop raspberries in the mornings for our yogurt and granola.

Not while summer light casts evening shadows across the water and pots of geraniums stand brightly on decks. No, it's not autumn yet. It's the in-between season. We had one of the warmest, if not THE warmest day of the summer yesterday. Autumn is coming. The signs are there. But I'm clinging to summer's last beauty. No autumn decor for me yet. 

There. I feel better. 
How do you feel about rushing the seasons?

A Post of Little Consequence

The garden is still yielding. Lots of "baby 'matoes" as Little Miss A calls them. Next year I'm going to plant less of the small fruits and more of the big ones. I'll be making a batch of pasta sauce in the next day or two, with tomatoes from my garden and that of my daughter's.
 

While in Banff in early August, I took the above photo with my phone. I like the way the slabs of rock are set in the bed, some leaning, some straight. No exact placements and the plants growing up nilly-willy between them. Casual and interesting.
 

The new and the old. The Oster was bought in 1977. It's served us well and faithfully, but alas, it's time to go. Just not enough oomph. I hate getting rid of old things, don't you? I wish the things that work well and I'm used to would just keep going and going, like the Energizer Bunny.
 

The Cuisinart blender, fresh from the box, made short work of frozen strawberries, milk and ice cream. Delicious! A great way to assuage the mild grief of retiring the Oster.
 

A nod to the coming season - a pot of mums on the front porch. This was an odd plant. Apparently it was squished in the growing and so the back half is flat. A half-moon plant. It works perfectly against the porch railing since our porch is quite small.

Time to move on. Do you have anything of little consequence to share today?

September Celebration

After the grey days of late it was a delight to see cheerful sunlight on Sunday. Brunch was on the calendar - Sausage Egg Casserole with a Mexican flavor, Scalloped Tomatoes, Chocolate Bread, Fruit Platter, and a Strawberry Mousse Cake for dessert. Everyone contributed so the preparation was easy on all of us.

 

I don't know what we talked about before the little misses entered our lives. Things are much livelier now with one non-stop chatter and activity. So much fun. We are blessed.

Three September birthdays were celebrated with singing led by Little Miss A, cake and candles.
 

September's golden days are here. Time to embrace the season. How are you feeling about September so far?

Foggy Days

 This has been a week of foggy, rainy mornings that clear into relatively pleasant afternoons. On Friday, accompanied by out of town guests, we went down to the water. Grey sea and sky melded into softly blurred harmony. I would have loved to have been on that sailboat in the mist.

After lunch at the Breakwater Cafe we walked along the breakwater. We heard lots of foghorns blaring but saw nothing. As we turned to go back to the car, I saw the cruise ship coming into port in the mist. Can you see it? Just the top few decks are visible. It was an eery sight to see it moving closer, as if suspended in the fog.
 

There were birds. A gull dipped his head down and reappeared with a crab. The heron looks like a grump in the bottom left photo, and more friendly in the top right. 

There were glimmers of blue sky above the fog. This sailboat, at anchor, drifted in and out of visibility. 

Arriving home, just a few miles away, blue sky shone overhead and there was no hint of the fog that enveloped the shoreline.

I'll be linking this to Mosaic Monday later on Sunday.

I think Summer's over

I worked in the library at school today. The rain poured down accompanied by thunder and lightning. Most unusual for our region. The library was stuffy and I opened the windows. What lovely, fresh scented air blew through. Flowers are looking bedraggled with rain. 

Now that I'm home, the skies have cleared and there's some sun. Still, I think that summer is packing her bags and leaving. I hope she vacillates a little more, don't you?
 

Some sewing of couch cushion covers - the easiest way I know to change up a living room. I made a big cover from the blue fabric that shows the bird print to advantage, but alas, the photo also showed that I hadn't pressed the fabric very well. Tsk, tsk.

And it's our son's birthday today - one with a zero on the end! I look at this photo and cannot believe how the years have flown by. Such a cliché, but nonetheless true. Now he's the father of our Little Miss A. Oh dear. I have to stop here before I get maudlin and teary. Too late. Happiest of Happy Birthdays, Travis with much, much love.

A Mixed Bag

White rocks and one piece of sea glass brought from French Beach on Sunday. I'm so glad we decided to go that day since we've had rain and clouds ever since. This week has been a bit of this and that - a part-time job teaching French I was hoping for didn't come to pass (it was posted just last week, so a very short time frame for beginning class.) So I'll keep on as a teacher on call. 

 

In the spring we planted some fruit trees - 2 or 3 years old. We were told they wouldn't bear fruit this first year and to not encourage it. I pulled most of the few blossoms off, but left one apple on each tree. We'll have a taste testing tonight for dessert. One Liberty and one Akane.
 

I can hardly believe it's been three years since our youngest's wedding day. What a sunshine-filled day it was! Happy Anniversary to the globe-trotters. They are back from Ecuador and settling into life on the mainland once again.

I've been canning tomatoes and salsa, pickling green beans (thanks to Mater for the idea), freezing pesto, and doing some sewing. Stitching by hand is what's appealing to me these days - a measured and contemplative activity - good for prayer and pondering. Much to think about these days with world events near and far being what they are.

Summer's Siren Call

Summer's siren song called again this afternoon, prompting another excursion, this time to French Beach. Waves rushed upon the shore, splashing upwards, then receding in long sighs. 
 

A small fishing boat pulled up crab traps (we think) as the sun lowered. A long line of distant fog obscured the far shore, leaving the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula groundless, floating on the water.
 

September's here and I wonder how many more such afternoons we will have before dull skies and rain take over. This month bridges summer and fall with warm sunlight and cooling breezes. The garden still blooms, but things are beginning to look tired. Soon it will be time to draw indoors and pull the coziness of autumn around. Change is in the wind. Do you feel it?