Last Day of Summer Garden

The last day of Summer, and the garden still looks amazing, thanks to my husband's care and creativity. Roses are sending out the occasional bloom, begonias are still the most intense red on Earth, cone flowers yellow makes the sunshine look like an imposter.

Morning Glories on a neighbor's fence can't possibly be a brighter blue. It's a mystery how nature does this, season after season

Meanwhile, the mornings are cold, and when I walk out barefoot before the sun has warmed the bricks, it wakes me up fast! It feels refreshing, and I'm loath to put shoes on...those days when I must wear shoes will be upon us all too quickly.

Tea tastes very good at this time of morning, sitting out on the bench near the fountain, taking a look at things from another angle.

A few mornings ago I was up and out with my tea at 5:30. What prompted me to jump out of bed, dress and begin my day at that hour, who knows, but I was glad I did.

Pitch black, damp and cold, I left the back door open to let all that early morning air in.

The quality of the darkness is different at this hour, not at all like after sunset, but deeper and more dense in some way, and when the sky begins to brighten, it seems almost impossible that our universe functions this way!

And this is how every morning begins, for everyone all over the planet.

Sometimes when I meditate in the morning, the dog comes over and places his muzzle into the circle of my Full Moon Mudra, or rests his chin to top, unmoving--this is how I think of that 5:30 a.m. darkness--silent, soft and solid, alive, inviting, inhaling, exhaling!

Summer is ending, but the garden will continue to thrive for many weeks still. The colors will slowly mute, or die back suddenly when we get a frost. Watching the changes is a pleasure. Simple