A few weekends ago I had time to sit on the patio, look at the garden areas, relax in the shade, and think.  Our small pine tree, the one with the bird feeders, has become a little ecosystem.  Finches and chickadees and cardinals and doves, squirrels of different colorings and even a mama squirrel comes by.  Our garden had humingbirds and monarchs and bumble bees and dragonflies.  All coming to feed and some stopping for quite a while.  It is peaceful.  I need that time, sometimes even with no phone to take pictures.  Yes, that was very healthy.

During those few weeks, it seemed as if the stores were sometimes quite successful in getting fall merchandise out the door – in 92° weather!  Scarecrows were showing up down the street!

But now fall is definitely here.  Our linden is shedding yellow leaves, one or two at a time, but there is a growing pile on the lawn. I have gotten out my boxes of tea for hot beverages.  The sweatshirts that sat in the closet over the summer are starting to come out.

In the garden, the daylilies and hostas are all done blooming.

The sedum are in full bloom.

But our little tomato plant, although looking quite tired, is still bearing fruit.  It had five waves of blooms!

Now my mind is beginning to consider plant moves – like the sedum that didn’t get much sun this year because the ‘Aureomarginata’ hostas have gotten so big.

Poor thing!  It needs much more spacious accommodations.

Some things have been fading, too, like the beautiful pink asian lilies that are getting crowded by hostas and sedum out front.  We have had them for probably a dozen years.  I don’t want to lose them, if possible.

It’s not quite scarecrow picks in the ground time at our house yet, but I’m thinking …  What do I want to move around so next year is even better?

Fall was also starting on the north shore when we were there last week.  One of the days we were up there we took a gondola ride.  Check out the start of fall color!