Just spending a little time thinking this evening before calling it a night. These are photos of one of my gardens from a few weeks ago. I dug this garden out completely this spring as it was full of the previous owners plant choices. While I have left some her larger plantings such as a couple of barberries and a large dogwood, I was uninspired by her use of mostly grasses to fill this spot. My favorite choice was to put in the bee balm, the red bloom in the front of the top photo. It's the hummingbird's favorite and therefore mine too.
The deck is right off of my studio, so in the hot days I find myself on the chairs in the shade of the deck taking in the beauty of growing things. Some days all I can manage in the heat is to sketch out here. Things are changing out here though, which I am seeing daily but don't really notice until I look at pictures. The nasturtiums are drying out with age and heat, the bee balm has past it's prime but another variety is blooming raspberry at it's base. My poor tomato plant has succumbed to blight. Time to take it out to the trash and scrub out the pot. Some of the plants I put in as fledgelings are actually blooming. Two coneflowers, a coconut lime and a double pink are in bloom. I can't help but think, though, that summer's prime is about over. The black-eyed-susans are in bloom too and the little field mice are coming inside. Sure signs that before long I will be cleaning the beds for winter.

While I welcome the cooler weather and the productivity I feel when it's more comfortable, I'm a little saddened every year to see summer go. The leaves turning are beautiful, fall skies are the most beautiful color of blue. Autumn is lovely. But.........I just love summer. I think I need to savor these last few weeks by filling my time with every summer activity that I love. I raise a glass of lemonade to toast the summer of 2009. Cheers!