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" Autumn shows us how
beautiful it is to let things go."
UNKNOWN
Sunday Morning and the sun is shining slant against steel grey clouds in the northwest. The weather station has been predicting frost for weeks now, but the warm days that felt like late summer kept it at bay. Until last night. The summer garden has at last succumbed to autumn's call to rest. The past few days I've been doing the rounds to say my goodbyes and thank you's. It's been a spectacular year for the garden.
Here is a quick peek at what was still bright with colour a day ago.
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"October, baptize me with leaves!
Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me
with split pea soup.
October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and
carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins.
O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!"
Alas, I saw this attributed to two different authors:
DONNA TARTT, "The Secret History"
and to RAINBOW ROWELL
Penquin Random House says it belongs to Rainbow Rowell
I'll be back next week, hopefully this time with the next episode in the Homes series. I thought it would be easy to write about my childhood home—my memories are still so vivid—but deep thinking about one's memories often takes time and much pondering to sort out what a person wants to actually record about these cherished remembrances. And so I'm still working away on this project.
As we begin the last full week of October, I'm hoping it will be bright and beautiful for you.
❦
Warmest heart hugs,
Brenda
Photos are mine
Oh, so beautiful! and yes, yes!! to the gem at the end by Donna Tartt! <3 I'm heading out to the garden do a bit of my own fond farewell-ing in a few minutes!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janet! Please note I did further research on the supposed Donna Tartt quotation. According to the Penguin Random House website, the saying belongs to Rainbow Rowell. As a publishing house, I would assume they have done their due diligence in seeking out the correct attribution. I'm sorry I didn't do mine before posting it. Just in case you wrote it down, I wanted to clarify.
DeleteI said farewell earlier this week to what flowers I had and planted my hopes for spring along with the tulip bulbs. Love that Donna Tartt quote, and thank you for the joyful, colourful photos. It's been such a wonderful October.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joy, for your note. You have indeed created hope for spring with the planting of your tulip bulbs. What fun it will be to watch them peek out come March and April.
DeleteThere is nothing blooming in my garden except some wild asters. The hanging basket of Proven Winners petunias is still going, but it can't go on much longer. Your colors are/were so rich and beautiful. I am glad that you have had time for goodbyes and thankyous. Enjoy the closing day of October.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a swath of those wild asters still growing, Vee? Those Proven Winners petunias do make such a showing, but here they now have succumbed to Jack Frost's work.
DeleteThere's such a bittersweetness to fall--so much beauty still to behold, yet we wait with bated breath as we see the signs that indicate the abrupt change we know is coming. The Donna Tartt quote, especially the last line which is a kind of haiku, captures so vividly the poignant fall feelings. Lovely altogether!
ReplyDeleteBittersweetness, indeed. Since you read this post, I have discovered that the quote I found attributed to Donna Tartt may belong to Rainbow Rowell. I got that info from the Penquin Random House website - I dare to assume they would have done their due diligence. All that to say, it is a lovely quote...whoever said it. Thanks, Kathy!
DeleteA light frost on the roofs last night had me scurrying out to the garden this morning to find the few flowers still untouched. But they are fading away regardless and soon the colour will be gone. I enjoyed this tour of your garden's last flowers. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Lorrie. I hope you found enough for one last bouquet before it's all over for the season.
DeleteThank you for sharing a peek at those last bursts of color in your garden! How lovely! I love the phrase you used, "autumn's call to rest." That is such a beautiful way of seeing it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Cheryl. xo
DeleteOh yes, that's what I had eluded to in my comments about your lovely Home series -- the delving in to them is riddled with time, contemplation, and a sorting out of what to share. In the past I too have thought I'd share a series going back in time but realized how time consuming and (for me) how complicated the sorting out of it was. I hope you are able to post even a couple more over time. I truly loved your first one.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your photos of your yard. Gosh your Evening Scented Stocks have done so well! I love that you have a nice full swath of them. I've enjoyed seeing your yard in this way.
Always happy to find your thoughtful comments here, Diane. Thank you! Still working away on that post.
DeleteLin Floyd says it is difficult to say goodbye to autumn as the storm clouds come and we need to retreat inside and turn on the furnace...it is always a long winter and summer with a too short fall and spring but that's life.
ReplyDeleteLin, yes, winter always seems to hog the seasonal calendar, especially in the northerly regions. It could be a little more courteous and leave summer have a longer fling. In any event, we'll try to find the beauty in whatever form it comes.
DeleteYour autumn blooms are simply wonderful, and I love each and every photo. You probably already know this and don't want to mess, but you can get free email alerts with mailchimp.com for up to 2000 readers. I love that it's free and you can still have people sign up. I don't want to miss a single post of yours!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Jeanie, for your support and for your input about email alerts with mailchimp. I have considered signing up but never did anything about it. Perhaps now with your wee encouragement, I'll just bite the bullet, create an account, and get set up. With winter coming, there will be fewer outside duties to take care of. :)
DeleteWe can grow flowers in the garden year round because of our mild temperatures but during the autumn and winter, when it (hopefully) rains, we get such an abundance of wild flowers and it, for me, is the real magic.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
I saw two huge sulfur butterflies this week. Who knew they would still be migrating through here! A three hour drive from me south, there are butterflies going by like they have all the time in the world. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed that you still had floral blooms in October. We had a few frost advisories here, but the temperatures continue to be in the low to mid 10s.
ReplyDelete