a quiet overcast september afternoon

Wally is home for a week and 2 days, attending to the house, painting, plumbing, and gardening on his agenda. I've got paperwork to do when I'm not on domestic duty or drawing in my sketchbook.

 The cooler autumn weather has slowed the growth of things around here and our 10 cent red jewel cabbage that made it into an available pot has certainly grown larger than the seedlings behind it, but won't grow much more I suspect.

I would have shown you this picture first but I didn't want to shock you so soon with such a good close up of a hornet that sat on the uppermost leaves of the climbing hydrangea that still sits in its pot on the deck, propped near the door to prevent it from constantly falling over in the wind.

Hornets are notoriously aggressive, but I sensed this fellow was somewhat sleepy

from a rather cool night before.

so I came in for his close up

and closer still.

As I stepped off the back deck, the vegetable garden is looking somewhat spent as most everything is ripening. The hydrangeas are looking tired too, bowed from the rain a few days before.

Into the yard, I noticed lots of wild asters growing around the perimeter,

this one by Forget-Me-Not Cabin's old beat up garage doors that I painted in the spring, 

The roses that Wally put into a new garden at one end of the cabin are budding profusely.

There are fading blooms on the other side of the same plant.

Lovely heirloom tomatoes are ripening.

and I'm overdue to pick some more green beans.

On his way to the garage, Wally catches sight of me.

"Hi honey."

I had to underexpose this daisy to pick up the detail in the petals

Beyond the rose garden is the rhubarb, then some wild asters, and the shipping pallet that Wally leaned in place to discourage the deer. Apparently they figured out a way in as the netting was pulled on our little peach tree, bending it over again, the remaining peaches gone

. At least we got some this year.  Next year, a real fence!

There were more wild asters growing on the other side of the cabin

by the old door crying for some paint.

Turning, I look East by Southeast at the hayfield whose weedy clumps of goldenrod, milkweed, etc.

are growing faster than the grass.

The wild roses in our border have turned to rose hips.

I make my way over to the garage garden where, that huge plant with the funky yellow flowers, Ligularia Dentata, is still putting on a show. Wally wanted me to check out where he placed the silver pitcher that I didn't need but didn't want to give away.

We both got a kick out of seeing it in amongst the Sweet William.

Over by the composter that Wally made out of shipping pallets,

the clematis is still blooming wildly.

Their seed heads make fabulous starbursts,

an added bonus.

Beside them the "black" hollyhocks are nearing the end

as they grow from the bottom of their stalks upward.

A gorgeous green and gold fly perched sleepily on one,

even as the wind bounced the bloom up and down and sideways.

Such an exquisite creature with its orange eyes.

Just to the side of the composter, more wild asters.

Sweet peas are blooming on the other side of the composter.

Going back up the steps, I look into the composter which looks more like a flower box with its Echinacea, clematis and the wild asters poking up through the deck side

The Echinacea are faded, woven through with sweet pea vines.

looking down on this natural bouquet of wild asters.

You may remember that I bought an extra cheap box of Crayola coloured pencils that have turned out to be of mixed quality, but fun nonetheless.

This piece done in Crayola coloured pencils as well,

as well as this one.

I'm feeling a little impatient to finish this book that I am drawing these images in so that I can justify turning to better quality paper. I've got a history of not completing my sketchbooks.  Better quality paper will actually enhance the appearance of these children's quality pencils, not to mention other media. Paper matters more than the materials sometimes, like the quality of a piano one plays on.  Still, there is much to learn each time I set out to draw something. The beaver's face was a challenge with its unusual shape, certainly not bunny or squirrel like, but as you can see I gave up finishing this piece, a sign that something better is to come.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope your September is kind to you. It is something to be grateful for, a little bit of kindness.

blessings

a hot time in the garden

It's been a hot time in the old town (tonight). (That's a take-off on an old song my mother used to sing to my sister and I as she bathed us when we were little ones. Imagine two little babes singing in the bathtub as you hear Bessie Smith sing her rendition of it:

                                

But really, it's been SO hot. 90F in the shade doesn't work for me.

After a rain ( one of several through last week) on Sunday morning, I finally ventured out to roam the garden.

Here the Hollyhocks seem to be photo-bombing my picture of the garden.

so I gave them the attention they deserved

one of their exotic blooms unfurling

Next to them, on the Composter Trellis, the purple Clematis are a happy profusion

"reach for the sky!"

on the other side, the Echinacea is doing is Fibonacci Spiral

These seed centres are amazingly hard. The Spiral mesmerizes me

An Echinacea Bud unfurling

You'd think the Hydrangea were done for

They don't handle that heavy rain well, but amazingly they're back up today!

The vegetable garden in a nutshell

Dissecting it, we find the Scallion in bloom to the left

Next to it, the Garlic Scape's graceful swirl

(perfectly delicious, the scape is the flower bulb of a garlic plant

that must be cut in order to create a larger garlic bulb below the ground.)

Dance of the Seven Garlic Scapes

Actually I think I can see eleven in this shot.

The poppy seed heads are kind of creepy to me,

but we leave them in hopes of more seeding themselves; we had 5 new flowers this year.

Next to the poppy grows a huge Oregano bush.

Fresh oregano is so much more aromatic than dried, with a hint of cloves to it.

Just wonderful in almost any dish.

The Kale grows just beyond the oregano with the Swiss Chard in the foreground.

The Chard is so happy. You may see the carrot leaves peeking through.

,

The Beets, with a very similar leaf to the Chard, grow beside them.

See how the leaf is less lumpy looking?  The leaves are every bit as delicious as Chard.

An Arugula flower. I can't seem to stay ahead of the Arugula bolting

( bolting means it's gone to "seed" and the leaves are small and bitter.)  Lettuces like cooler weather.

The line-up next to the Beets and Chard, houses the tomatoes

with Beans and Peas, each with their own trellis.

a lovely tomato flower, so small, will grow into a huge tomato

The Purple Pole Beans flowers will make  purple beans that will turn green when cooked

Such exquisite blooms, rather like miniature orchids

The tendrils of the Snap Peas seem to be reaching everywhere but their trellis

They have a gorgeous little bloom

too small for a bouquet, and too precious not to eat

(why do I always feel so ferociously carnivorous around these darling babies???)

So much intense beauty in the world!

There are a few more surprises in the garden, believe it or not. For such a little garden, Wally has found room for Zucchini, Cucumber and Eggplant, but they went in late, so we'll see how they develop. In the meantime, there is dill and cilantro growing in odd places which are wonderful in so many dishes.

On the far side of the yard, Peppermint is growing along the fenceline.

I use it instead of mint in our quinoa tabbouli, a summer staple.

The little Peach tree has held onto all its fruit so far with nary a deer in sight.

Tart Red Currants

and black ones too

next door neighbours to our Raspberries

Raspberries ripening quickly

The neighbour's Cherry tree hangs into our yard where I share its fruit with the starlings.

The Harelson Apple tree is heavy with fruit this year

Our best crop in its 3 years

As I stand on the hill overlooking the garden, I can see the misty vista beyond the hayfield

I walk back to the side of the garage. In the middle ground you can see where Wally staked our messy Gogi Berry bush. It was sprawling in an ungainly 5 foot circumference and wanting to grow bigger. Wally will move it in the fall. The old tree stump in the foreground may very well have been another Ash tree planted over 80 years ago and slow to break down.

The Hostas will have to be transplanted as well as they are crowding each other.

Did you know that Hosta is a lily? It's flower bud about to unfurl.

In the Hosta bed there is this unusual flowering plant...

Darned if I remember its name

Then there is this monster with the prehistoric flowers that will open next month.

I found this startlingly beautiful visitor on one of its leaves. I did find its convoluted name:

Condylostylus, caudatus group

Wanting to title these photos, I finally learned that this ubiquitous weed

with the pretty purple flowers is called Selfheal

Buttercups are weeds too I guess, but they never fail to delight

I look across the driveway at the magnificent Ash growing out of our Maple hedge

 the bark swirls like a river around its branch

Just to the left, the teeny wild white Roses have died off

and left their little seed pods- rose hips- behind

In the corner, a gift of Day Lilies among the ground cover

Now I turn toward the house where we seem to have but one Asian Lily left

Note the seeded berries at the base of the leaves.

Instead, wild pink mallow have taken over the lily garden

That was Sunday.

Since then we have had a full moon.

I will often stand on the deck in the peace of night and take in the fresh cool country air and the quiet.

This morning, I mistakenly still had the flash on from the full moon night and Muji took the hit.

It didn't faze him though

This boy will do anything for a cuddle

"Plee--eeaze?"

The Muji paw flex,  mostly held up for a "high five"

but there are those times when I'm working at the kitchen counter,

 that he gets on a chair behind me and gives me a pat, startling the hell out of me.

60 pictures later- I think that's a record- I leave you with a morning shot of the black Hollyhocks

and wish you the gift of nature (when she's kind)

Because, after all,

it's Kindness that matters most,

to each other

and to ourselves.