Hello September

Hello September! School is back in session, the light appears later in the morning and fades earlier in the evening, while an earthy aroma whispers change. I welcome autumn harvests, red apples, blooming chrysanthemums, orange pumpkins, whimsical gourds, and corn shocks all shining under a harvest moon.

The bounty of the garden spills into my kitchen with delectable results...

Summer squash au gratin

Canned whole ‘Roma’ tomatoes 

Fresh salsa

Stuffed peppers

Tomato Bingo Anyone?

The glory days of sunflowers towering over the garden are passing as bulbous heads bowed low salute nature’s change of seasons. The final sunflower has opened her face to the sun and I stand beneath heaving an audible sigh of appreciation.

I am not the only creature that benefitted from all that sunflowers offer; bees, covered in yellow pollen, danced around the spheres sipping and collecting. Butterflies lit on this year’s favorite flower and a goldfinch hung precariously, nearly upside, snatching a not-ready-for-prime-eating seed or two.

I think I will miss the sunflowers most of all. As Vincent Van Gogh remarked, “The sunflower is mine, in a way.” Well it’s mine in a way, too and I have taken over a hundred photos hoping that just one will capture the essence of a sunflower.

Cutting a sunflower head in its crowning golden glory of petals was one of the hardest things I did in my garden this year. I treasured each one and while I love cut flowers, scanning often requires removal of stems. So I float the head in water enjoying it for as long as possible knowing that long after the stems have been cut down I’ll have colored memories.

Come in September.  I'm so glad you're here!