So much to do this week

but I must tend to the garden first

It is quickly coming to an end

and all the ladies in this chorus line are doing their thing

It is almost a wild party in the garden

every flower and plant throwing out its last hurrah

before standing naked in leaves

feet frozen to the ground

waiting for a blanket of white

to cover them 

I heard that we are going to have a repeat of last winter

urgh!

..better stock up on birdeseed

I told you I have lots to do...now one more thing just added to my list

wild party in garden

flinging leaves and last flowers

I partner in dance

walking around the garden this morning

the ground covered in wet leaves

I heard an unfamiliar, for here anyway,

the call of a Blue Jay

Do you think it had anything to do with the peanuts

I put out this morning before walking?

How did that rascal spot them so soon?

I followed the sound

and yes, it was a Blue Jay

flying away with his beak full of peanuts

JOY

city farmer

I have always kept this blog about my garden

...a very hard thing to do

How much can one write about the same space
day after day

That is the joy actually..looking

observing,listening,touching, smelling

But I spent the day with my grandson , Finn

and I spotted this growing on his block in the city

Oh I know the heart of that person who set those seeds

and stood back and hoped

bless the city farmer

who can't help himself

the urge to grow so strong

The seeds were cast too late

these will never bare corn

But it is a beacon of hope in a city

sometimes too bleak for many

I hope passersby

partook in its harvest of joy

Blue grace

Yep, she's passing through like a bat out of you know where

shaking the trees until they give in and let go their precious leaves

But there is beauty in the lass

she paints a mean picture

as she shilly shallys through the garden

and when the guy upstairs dips his brush in blue paint

and spreads it across this autumn sky

I just about drop to my knees

bathed in grace

Goldenrod..solidago
so pretty waving in the garden
this time of year
I have learned that goldenrod was a
seasonal indicator plant for the native American tribe Omaha
While on their summer buffalo hunt  :(
it served as a floral calendar... when they saw it
they knew that back home their corn was beginning to ripen

They also used the plant to make a tea to treat heart ailments
and a topical treatment for muscle cramps
and a pain killer for bee stings

Sort of gives you a new respect for this common weed garden plant

yellow goldenrod
the summer hunt is over
a new season stings

Gloomy skies and wet earth greet me on my walk this morning

There is a chill in the air

Last night I noticed how quickly it got dark...where have I been

that I haven't noticed this before?

Soon there will be time for inside things 

of the heart that need contemplating

before a roaring fire or over a hot bowl of soup

or sipping a good glass of wine

Autumn and winter are seasons set forth for quiet growth

and a time to romance ones self

I too, have set seeds like 

the white oak 

Her acorns look almost human like...the tree's destiny clipped to a leaf

that will soon fall to the earth in a blaze of yellow,then

lay dormant in the bitter cold

 under protective snow

waiting for warm days

to awaken it to life

The leaves of the evening primrose

are turning red

and I love it

a cheeriness in a garden that is packing up

letting go

preparing the way

I think I'll wear red today

too

little petal fists

sometimes we hold tight too long

we die unopened

 

a late fall flower
her white gown against their green
bless the late bloomer

last summer walk through the garden with the wee one

I LOVE THESE ASTERS

  DUG FROM A ROADSIDE YEARS AGO

 BROUGHT TO THIS HOUSE

ALMOST 16 YEARS AGO

...THEY HAVE GOTTEN EVEN

 BY JUMPING ALL OVER THE GARDEN

SPREADING THEIR JOYOUS COLOR OF PURPLE

WITH SUNNY YELLOW CENTERS

...anything but the Brier patch

I whisper as I pass by

Ah,Stafford, you newbie to the garden this year

you have done a splendid job of watching over all

your wise look ....of course you're riding on an owl

your face cheers me with its whimsical gaze

Now you must direct the symphony of the leaves

use your fishing pole, my lord

Finn

He has inherited the gene!

a future gardener...a tree hugger

a bug hunter

a rock collector

How can I ever thank Him

for such a gift

to such a wench as I?

I hate to brag...but this autumn joy clematis

is mine

woo me some more

Dear Darby Autumn

Have you ever stepped in chocolate mint?

Finn did...and said m-m-m-m

:)

Oh...and the Finn is a bird watcher, too

pointing to the bushes or trees when he heard them sing or chirp

POOR BOO

HE HAD TO DO HIS BIRDWATCHING FROM INSIDE

the season ages

he claps my hand while walking

autumn holding spring

structure

She's almost naked now,
her shaply figure quickly becoming undressed.
But like me, she is not afraid to be naked,
to stand as a beautiful creation
of God.
For it is what we are made of, not what covers us
this is our structure.
In the end, as we head into the season of winter,
let us stand proudly in our gardens.

The wench has been busy lately

and the garden shows it

but I think it is all right

things are letting go

all on their own

Do you remember last year when in fit of tidiness

I cut the stem of my newly planted Autumn Joy Clematis?

How I cried....wailed.....that I committed murder

and just when it was about to open its flowers?

Well,it has come back!

...remind me to get an arbor or trellis for it next year!

Can you see his ears?

He's hiding in the weed patch

a favorite place...I see him often

as he rushes behind the mugos

for safety..today I guess I snuck up on him

...he froze...and I spoke to him

but he doesn't understand anything but RUN

I guess his mom taught him that

At a bbq on Saturday the host

who had a fabulous garden

told me he shoots rabbits that get near his prize dahlias

my heart broke

the world will always be filled with such

but not in my Open Bar of Joy



the horsechesnut tree

dropping pieces of herself

while setting tight buds

The turning of season

I quarrel with it

aware that it interferes with

acceptance

It's the robins

they have gone

mostly gone

they no longer sing to the rising sun  while on my rooftop

or sing me to sleepiness and slumber in the evening

they too have seen the signs

They go elsewhere

where they can sing and feast

I must do likewise

only mine is a journey to inside setting of buds





This morning

above me

high in the sky

flew a red jet

I remember the day

10 years ago

that all planes were grounded

and I stood with my neighbors

in disbelief

The remembering of this was eerie

the numbness

the heartsickness

the fear

But today, I saw

 a red jet fly overhead

and morning glories that had opened

unaware

The asters are blooming

how I love them

but they signal that time marches on

soon it will be getting darker much sooner and it will be much colder

and the light in the garden will change

But it's all right

I'm ready, in fact, I wait for it.

Ever since the fox came to me

then died near me

Life in the garden has taken on a different tone

The robins are less frequent now...they sing no more

the goldfinches are looking less yellow

I think of my fox and how he chose to die here

His passing... has affected me in the garden

I can see his bones under the deck

a blanket of sadness I have to admit has colored everything

even when I thought it didn't

A reminder how connected we all are

and how death is part of the living experience

now autumn

The season has come to my garden to die

I will watch over it like I did the poor old fox

I will honor its passing

I will go inside

inside

My husband had to go to a retirement party tonight
so I had to handle this fella all by myself
The poor possum was not looking to peppy
So I placed the net handle down the window well
and went inside and opened the window....carefully
The critter was very still
I turned the net toward his body which was huddled in the corner
then  took a long duster and prodded him into the net.....hoop tee do!
Quickly I raised the guy all the way up to the top and let the net go
and so he ran...........

there's a million stories in the naked city
...and this has been one of them                                   :)

Oh my.

Look who fell down into the window well by the lillies

poor little fella

I tried to get him out like I did the muskrat babylast year... with a fishing net....

but this fella played dead

wouldn't move

I put a ladder down there

then went downstairs and opened the window

to see if he'd awake....nope

I slipped in a bowl of water and an apple

oh, and I covered hm with a dark cloth

so he thinks he's hiding and not so exposed

Am I nuts or what?

I think Himself is going to have to help me on this caper

poor little creature

I hope he makes it

Oh the drama of a garden



This is one of those things in the garden that makes me stop 

every time I pass it

The lamb lying down with the lion

Takes trust

As I get older....soon to be 61

I often think

Is this my last garden

Is this my last time of 

seeing it 

smelling it

touching it

tasting it

of loving it?

Yet, I don't worry about it

I trust.

I do love my dodads
Today I spent a bit of time in the garden with Finn
and his Mom
Finn took my hose and went a watering
including himself....grandpa came home for lunch
and joined in the fun...Finn got grandpa's shoe wet
My daughter just sat on the deck watching it all
with a smile...sunlight on her face....
Then she said...mom I love your wind chimes
Which ones? I asked.....Grandpa rolled his eyes
Finn just laughed aiming the hose at his feet
All of them..... she answered
I just love that girl

This is entering the garden on the dark side

shade...I rather love shade

love the plants in early spring that like shade

growing under other plants that are still asleep

Oh this wench feels the pull of certain season change

although today it is to be in the high 90's

oh dear...I think I'll sit right here

and have a glass of cold water with a slice of lemon

and do some sketching today

I sketch..did you know that?

maybe I'll sketch that spider web from yesterday

oh, but that would be sitting in the bright sunlight

no,I'll find something here... right where I am

and that is the secret, isn't it

right here, where we are