Remnants of Summer

There is no doubt that it is fall.  It has been a gray day and cool enough to keep the wood stove gently burning since this morning and I had to wear a coat when I went out, rather than my usual sweatshirt.  I love fall, mostly because it means winter is on it's way...and I really love winter (at least so far, haven't lived through it in more than 35 years).  We have our first frost warning for tomorrow morning which excites me, though my inexperienced self doesn't see favorable conditions for it at this point; we shall see what the morning brings!

I was pleasantly surprised when I went out into the yard trying to capture the leaves falling (yes, I am still trying to find a way to share that beauty with you) and discovered a lone sunflower standing proudly amongst the fallen leaves strewn throughout the grass.  The contrast between it's beautiful golden center surrounded by white petals against the deep green, golds and browns of the surrounding landscape struck me as utterly perfect.  A lingering sparkle of summer!

When we went to the garden, we gathered what I believe to be the last of our summer harvest (except for a few still growing green beans)...we decided to pick the green tomatoes, being that they had yet to ripen and with the potential frost upon us, rather than loose them, and this is the last of our lettuce.

Then I came across this ladybug meandering across the porch railing, causing me to pause and remember all that summer has to offer. 

But with the passing of summer, so does the chore of mowing (woo hoo!).  Yes, I am the lawn maintenance person in this family, as Mountain Man would rather live in the wilds than do any mowing/trimming/weed eating.  While I prefer the non-manicured look, I don't want to live in a jungle! So today I mowed and used the weed eater for what I am sure will be the last time this year (well, I still have two big sections to finish, but I am happy with my progress today).

But fair is fair, and as I was working on the yard, Johny was working on the wood pile (that task is ongoing throughout the winter, so I prefer mowing, thank you very much)...

...looks like we have lots of wood (yes, there is one empty section still to be filled), but one ol' timer told me yesterday that it's been said we are going to have a hard winter...I think Mountain Man needs to keep cutting...this is, after all, our source of heating!

Despite a gray sky, today's landscape was speckled with fall colors...the wind has been quite strong, blowing the leaves every which way and keeping my chimes singing almost nonstop (maybe that is why we have a frost warning?).  I just hope the leaves hang on long enough to enjoy the full array of fall colors for a while, but just in case, this is the view from this afternoon...

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise