Monday's Sundries

It hasn't frosted yet but it's turned cool enough (51 F on Sunday afternoon) that I doubt the nasturiums will be around much longer. So I've planted a flat of pansies in this little island bed in our entry way.  These hardy little flowers will greet us all winter, smiling up from the melting snow. If things go well, there should be a purple pool around the crepe myrtle trunks next spring.  At least, that's what I'm hoping for.

The big poplar in the cemetery  is shedding its lower leaves and revealing its elegant skeleton while the sun gives its  leafy crown a parting kiss.

This is the lull before the storm -- a time of getting ready. In a very few weeks, the trees beyond the pond will set the quiet water aflame with reflections of red and gold. The autumn color will blaze across the hills and we will scurry to make ready for winter.