Yep, It's September

It's official. With school having started and Labor Day within
our range, we can say the Fall has arrived. The nights have
certainly come earlier, having lost two hours of daylight since
summer solstice began. We'll lose more of course it's only
beginning. Ron is acutely aware of this shifting light change.
He hates it. He misses being able to ride his bike and enjoy the
outdoors for at least a couple of hours after work. I throw in
(with a smile)" there's always golf!" It's important to think in
positives, and oh yes, a good thing…we have a vacation coming
up. I love vacation thyme in late September. So, our summer
was filled with colorful blooms, abundant produce, and sunshine 
galore, and now the changes are happening daily. Everything
is beginning to look a little tired and well…worn out. Lawns
are also showing signs of stress. We haven't had a really good 
rainfall for awhile. I'm starting to see bare spots in the grass.
I consulted my lawn care provider and he reminds me of 
cutting on the high side, watering for a deep soak, aerating to
fight grass compaction and to allow oxygen and nutrients to 
get to the roots and finally another fall fertilization and 
planting some grass seed. All good advice. Late summer will
be a good time for the seed to germinate, but keep it moist.
If you do have bare spots, you'll need to loosen up the soil for
good contact. I have my old garden rake, (not the leaf kind)  
that will work perfectly. So we have an immediate plan….
work on the lawn while we steady on with putting our garden
areas to rest for the season. 

Spied my first woolly worm on top of the herb jar. So cute, when 
you touch them they curl up in a ball. Are their brown bands a
predictor of winter weather? Hmm…not sure. They eat weeds and
grasses but do no harm to the vegetables or ornamentals. We'll
see them cross our paths as they are searching for places to over-
winter. They will become Tiger Moths. Did you know they crawl 
at 0.5 mph, or about a mile per day. So sweet.

Picture sharing from my morning bike rides. Wonderful!!

A quick trim for the topiaries.


"That old September feeling…of summer passing, vacation nearly 
done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air…
Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee 
in that autumnal beginning, as if last year's mistakes and failures 
had been wiped clean by summer.  ~Wallace Stegner

I know who's ready for fall...

Sam with jersey on, ready for the Bengal's game!!

Thanks for stopping by!