welcome autumn!

"We come back to Autumn, to zucchini that wilt like witches' shoes."  Margaret Hasse

It arrived quietly here this morning at 4:05 a.m., I was awake, as was Claude, crying to be picked up and cuddled in our cozy bed.   We have felt the crispness in the air for several days now, autumn does tend to arrive sooner here than the calendar tells us.  I have already pulled out the wool slippers and the cozy cardigans.  The first pot of chili has been enjoyed along with some cornbread.  I tried a new apple cake recipe-yum!  Look for the recipe next week.  Football is regularly being played in the field across the street, spectators bundled in warm coats and hats.  The squirrels are scurrying across the lawn, nuts in their mouths (where they heck do they find them?  We have no nut trees anywhere near our house....).  My asters are starting to bloom, (the ones that our resident bunny didn't consume).  I have stocked up on tea and soup, and pulled out my hand knitted wool socks.

Fortunately, most of my flowers are still thriving.  Here's a little tour:

My herb garden.  I usually transplant a couple of things to a pot for inside before it get's frosty; sage, thyme, lemon balm.

Remember when I planted this pot with a couple of coleus plants along with some other things?

It really thrived!

Here is a window box from the beginning of the growing season (May, to be exact):

And here is that same window box now.  I am one of those gardeners who is always adding, moving, etc.

My biggest yard headache this year?  Our birch tree got completely invaded with Japanese Beetles.  Yuk. And now they have laid eggs in the ground.  grrrr.  How do I combat THAT?

Another before and after, the giant Ikea pot on my front step in May:

and today.  (sorry about the bad lighting in this one...)

For some crazy reason, the black eyed susan vine flourishing  in the center of the pot only produced two blooms the entire season.  I have never had that happen before, usually they bloom like crazy for me.

Yesterday I picked up my fall stash of flowers-purple asters and bronze orange mums, kale and purple and orange pansies, and sunny yellow mums.  I picked up a blue pumpkin, a white pumpkin, half a dozen pie pumpkins, and a bag full of assorted squash.  Can't wait to play with my pots and window boxes this weekend and welcome the season!  Now if only the frost will hold off a few more weeks so we can fully enjoy it all...

How will you welcome the new season?