a great day for zinnias

 

 

A field filled with bright flamenco dancing zinnas and backed with tall smiling sunflowers.

A local farmer planted them and invited folks to come pick all they wanted for $3 a bunch. The roads were lined with cars as people flocked to the field to take photos and pick flowers. Another field was ripe with pumpkins of all sizes, and youngsters excitedly dashed to pick their favorites to take home.

It couldn't have been a more beautiful fall day.

The migrating nashville warbler is thrown in because I was thrilled to get a photo of it when it stopped by for a drink.

not the last rose

.....but most certainly the last gardenia of summer. I brought it indoors and placed it in a vase on the window sill. Now it fills the house with fragrance.

 Sending all the wrong signals to my brain....

While pumpkins and gourds are on the hearth, and falling leaves come down like rain, my brain is sorting memories of balmy spring nights, singing mockingbirds, trips to the beach and youthful adventures.

lost, but now it's found

Brazilian plume plant

white rain lilies

 pink rain lily



Over the years I have stuck all kinds of bulbs and plants in front of flower beds thinking how nice they would look as a border to shrubs. After many decades the bushes and perennials have over grown those in front, rendering them lost--and often forgotten.

In the last few weeks some of these flowers have been spotted peeking out from heavy foliage and reminding me to rescue them. A quick photograph and a surveyor's flag should help in finding them when they are dormant again and safe for me to relocate them.

The white rain lily is especially meaningful to me because I dug them from a ditch more than 50 years ago. 

row by row

Let's just plant a few green onions for cooking...

There's some space left...maybe we can fit in some Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and pak choy.

ummmm..there's room for a row of turnips and mustard greens.

and this morning I added mesclun, arugula, parsley and cilantro.

Inch by inch,  row by row

Gonna make this garden grow.


*the cages keep the rabbits from nibbling

gorgeous gourds

 

 

and pumpkins!

An explosion of fiery color...

wild ones

a wild morning glory

not sure, but maybe  a type of vervain

 passion flower

 wild ageratum

French mulberry or beauty berry


Just a quick walk along the perimeter of the hay fields produced these wild blossoms which I snapped with my iphone. Nature keeps sending color our way

I found a few migrating birds, but didn't have the camera lens to capture them. One of the best was a white eyed vireo that was gleaning insects from the trees next to the pond. Walking has been a pleasure in recent days with cooler temps and mowed pastures.