Goodbye Sweet Summer

  

 " When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and like a dream of beauty glides away. "

 

~Sarah Helen Power Whitman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

'Til They're Clean And Sparkly

 

The most beautiful of late September days today. Cooler temperatures and mild breezes.

I've spent the majority of the time cleaning away Summer's dirt and grime, 

Windows are washed, and porches swept, late afternoon I baked two loaves of banana nut bread, one to keep, and one to send home with my visiting granddaughter.

A simple day, to be savored.

Tea Party Jabberwocky

I had a little tea party

This afternoon at three.

'Twas very small-

Three guest in all-

Just I, myself and me.

Myself ate all the sandwiches,

While I drank up the tea;

'Twas also I who ate the pie

And passed the cake to me.

~ Jessica North Nelson

And The Rains Came

Deluged with rain today, bucket loads of the stuff, the town creek has flooded, and water is standing everywhere.
The flowers look bedraggled, water-logged in fact.
This picture of the Autumn Joy Sedum was taken mid-week, it's finally in bloom, and turning a delicious shade of crimson.
Autumn is just around the corner.

Summer's Bounty

Enjoying a taste of the last Summer strawberries.

I'm freezing the remainder, to indulge in, on a cold Winter's day.

Topped with a dollop of clotted cream, or maybe use them to make a  lovely batch of strawberry scones.

Accompanied by a nice pot of tea.

*grin*

 

 

 

Little Things That Make Me Smile

 "As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful."

                                                  ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

                                                                            

                                                         

Seasons Changing

Summer is fading fast, last night the temperatures dropped to the perfect sixty degree range, and finally the humming of the air conditioner was silenced.
School children have once again returned to their classes, albeit on  a staggered schedule, and towns are slowly rolling out their sidewalks, to gently encourage some kind of normalcy.
The rhythm of life continues......

September Days

 

"September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours,

But in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn.
The cricket chirps in the noontide, making the most of what remains of his brief life.
The bumblebee is busy among the clover blossoms of the aftermath,
And their shrill and dreamy hum hold the outdoor world above the voices of the song birds,
Now silent or departed."-

~ September Days : Rowland E. Robinson, Vermont

A Cozy Tale

I have always been amazed by the wonderful friends we meet through this world called blogging.

Words of encouragement, sympathy, and an overall feeling of camaraderie.

The sort of people I would enjoy sitting down and sharing a pot of tea and a scone with.

A sweet fellow blogger  writes a delightful blog about all things tea, and in particular English tea and customs. https://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/
Bernideen owned her own tea room in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a town co-incidentally, I lived in for several years, but wasn't aware of her delight.
Recently,  Bernideen has moved to be closer to family in Missouri, and has recreated her tea room in her home, and stunning garden.

Her talents do not stop there she is also a talented crafter.
She designs and sews amazingly beautiful tea-cozies.
If you are a regular reader of my little blog, you are probably aware that I recently lost my handsome Oliver cat to Bobcat fever, a terrible disease with little or no cure.
Bernideen contacted me and asked if she could send me a gift, in remembrance of Oliver, and Saturday it arrived.

The sweetest little tea-cozy created with kitties on the fabric, front and center is the image of a orange and white kitty, just like my Oliver.
The cozy can be reversed, the opposite side, is fabric covered in the Union Jack flag of England.
It's perfect, as pretty as I could have imagined, THAT kindness just made my day.

Thank you dear Bernideen, I will forever treasure your beautiful gift.

Wildflower Beauty

One of the sure signs, that Summer is waning, is the return of the Passion Flower..

Resembling something of an underwater sea-creature, the Passion Flower resides far from the ocean, in land-locked Tennessee.

It was first named as the official state flower in 1919 and then in 1939 the iris was also named the state flower. In 1973 legislation was passed designating the passion flower as the state wildflower and the iris as the state cultivated flower.

Also known as the maypop, wild apricot and the Ocoee, passion flowers grow wild in the southern United States and South America. Ocoee is the Indian name for the passion flower (also used in the name of the Ocoee River and valley in Tennessee and the city of Ocoee in Florida). American Indians considered Ocoee the most beautiful of flowers.
I can't help but agree.