Autumn's Arrival

And all at once Summer collapsed into Fall

~ Oscar Wilde

Typically when the first day of Fall rolls around it is still looking and feeling very Summery around here.  This year, however, Summer appears to have done just as Oscar Wilde stated... collapsed into Fall.

When I went outside this morning the temperature was 46 f.  So cool, yet sunny.  A delightful day has begun.

The change of season always makes me want to make a few changes indoors.  On a recent visit to Aldi I was drawn to this mercury glass pumpkin candle.  It has a pleasant pumpkin spice scent and fit in well with the mercury glass gourd I already had.

I especially like a scented candle on the foyer table.

It adds a warm glow in the evenings as it is getting dark earlier and the seasonal scent makes a pleasant greeting.

With the change of seasons woodsy walks hold a new appeal.

Goodbye humidity and mosquitoes ~ hello crisp air and changing leaves.

🍂🍂🍂

Heating up the oven for a pleasant afternoon of baking is another fall favorite.  I did just that on Sunday.  Lorrie was kind enough to share her recipe for date loaf here.  Oh my goodness, is it ever delicious!  So moist with just the right amount of sweetness.

Just the thing to accompany a warming cup of tea or coffee.

Reading always ranks high on my list, perhaps even more so in the cooler months of the year.  That is the time the cozy reads are especially appealing.  Nothing like curling up under a warm blanket with a good book.   I've had an Amazon gift card tucked away since my birthday in April just waiting for the right thing to come along. ;).  Because I have only read one or two of the little house books, it seemed a good time to tackle the entire series in order.  This little library caught my eye.  

With all of the uncertainty of flu season amid covid hanging over our heads, it seems like a good idea to be stocked up on nice diversions.

For me that will include plenty of books.  

                                                               

Seems Sally Stole The Sunshine

The other day, Brett popped his head in the door to tell me there was a turtle in the front yard.  I got out there just in time to see this guy climbing up the curb.  I have no idea where he came from or where he was headed, but he offered some new photo ops, so there we both stood snapping away.  Anything for a bit of variety in these strange times we are in.

I woke this morning at 6:25.

Closed my eyes in hopes of a bit more sleep before the 7:30 alarm sounded.  Next thing I knew it was 7:55.  Hmmm,  not sure if I forgot to set the alarm or I turned it off in the midst of exhaustion.

The room was still as dark as the middle of night.

One look out the window revealed the reason.

It seems that the remnants of hurricane Sally will be with us all day.

The sun will be in short supply non-existent here today.

Yesterday the sun shone all day.

The humidity disappeared making it a delightful day to keep the windows open and air the place out.

Today we'll be making our own sunshine and perhaps finishing the puzzle or a book.

What's happening in your world today?

Outside Morning Light

Recently I've been working on methods to help with getting a good night's sleep.  While listening to a doctor speak on ways to strengthen the immune system, quality sleep was naturally mentioned.  I don't know about you, but for me that is often easier said than done.  One of the things she recommended was to get outside morning light daily.  She explained it as going outside with no glass between your eyes and the natural outdoor light (ie:  windows, sunglasses or glasses).  Ideally this should be done for 30 minutes sometime before 11:00 a.m.  Apparently this signals the brain to turn off the melatonin for 14 hours.  Melatonin is naturally released by the brain to help us sleep.  She said that it wasn't an instant fix, but with time it would help with the natural circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle).  

This sounded very logical and easy enough to do.

For the past two weeks it has become my morning routine.

Get dressed, make a cup of coffee and slip out onto the patio.

Currently the little hummingbirds are keeping me entertained.

Some days I watch larger birds glide through the skies.

This day I think they were turkey vultures.

This morning a hawk visited briefly.

September also brings another type of visitor.  Namely spiders and lots of them.  I haven't taken pictures of them as I find them to be creepy.  There is one I see every morning right in the middle of a huge web.  I keep an eye on him to make sure he stays on that web while I am outside.  One day I watched in fascination as he reeled in the entire web as he made his way up to the roof and disappeared.  Fascinating (from a distance :).

The bug in the photo above was hanging out on the patio this morning.  He is either resting in peace or just resting.  Either way he didn't move for the entire 30 minutes I was out there.  Hence the reason I got brave enough to get close enough for a photo.  I am a bit fascinated by the "camo" he is sporting and look at those huge eyes!!

The view looking toward my neighbor's yard.

Just past the last of the crepe myrtle blooms her dogwood tree is beginning to show some fall color.  A perfect illustration of summer giving way to fall.

Since beginning this practice my sleep does seem to be improving.

I plan to make it my permanent routine.

I'm usually out there between 7:30 and 8:00.  A peaceful time of day.

Breathing in the fresh air, enjoying the occasional breeze and getting up close with nature are all nice ways to begin the day.  

🌞🌞🌞

On another note:  With my return to blogging I have pretty much figured out the new Blogger changes.  The only thing that I can't figure out is why my text size seems to randomly change on it's own.  Has anybody else had that issue?

Enjoy your weekend!

Ways With Trays

With the passing of the Labor Day holiday, thoughts often turn to all things Fall.  By now I am ready for those cooler temperatures, although our weather is usually still screaming Summer.

This year, our temperatures have slipped down into the low 80s and, best of all, the humidity is way down too.

Yesterday, while spending a leisurely Labor Day at home, the fall decorating bug bit.

My seasonal decorating has been greatly simplified in the past few years.

Tray vignettes serve me well.

They are as easy as 1, 2, 3.

As you can see above, the tray on my dining table works like this:

1.  seasonal candle

2.  seasonal napkins

3.  something textural and seasonal.  In the summer it was a vase of flowers or whatever was available to be clipped from the garden.  Now it's a bundle of wheat.

See, easy as can be and also practical.

I decided to change out the candle (previous photo) to this one.

I think the scale is better and I like the mini gourds with the napkins.

Further proof that the decorating has become simple around here.

This tray is near the entrance to my home.

Yesterday I replaced one item to give it a nod to the upcoming season.

Throughout the spring and summer it looked like this.

Bye bye bunny.

Hello mercury glass pumpkin.

: D

I rest my case.

Super simple seasonal decorating.

All thanks to the humble tray.

Well, That Was Weird

~ late summer blooms ~

It's been a strange time here on the blog front.

Since my last post I have been locked out of my blog.  A long story that I won't bore you with, I'm just happy to finally have it figured out and able to see what's happening behind the scenes.  While locked out, I could see my blog, I just couldn't get in there and do anything with it.  

A strange feeling somewhat like being locked out of your house or car.

During this time I did read a few of you mentioning problems with receiving disgusting comments.  When I finally cracked the code for controlling this blog again, the first thing I did was check on unpublished comments.  A few of those went promptly into the trash bin.  Is this a new problem with the Blogger changes?  How disappointing!

Anyhow, I'm testing the waters today to see if I remember how to blog :) and also to see if this will post correctly.

I hope you are all doing well.

First Tomatoes and More Butterflies

More than ever it's been the simple things that have been adding a bit of interest to day after day of staying home.

Watching and waiting for that first tomato to ripen has been one of the recent highlights.

 This week there were enough to put to good use.

Underneath all of those chopped veggies there are meatballs with rice in them.  The veggies cooked down to a nice fresh tasting sauce.  Garlic and basil added wonderful flavor.  Best of all it will provide several meals for the two of us, which is nice because it's hotter than blazes around here.  Not the kind of weather one wants to be slaving over a hot stove in.

 Although, I will brave the heat to chase the butterflies.

🦋

 I've had several different butterfly bushes in the past 20 years.

All of them put together never drew the variety that we have been seeing on this one patio plant.

 These were just a sampling of this week's visitors.

Hummingbird moths, bumblebees and even a hummingbird have also been seen.

 Some of them are camera shy.

Others are happy to pose and share their unique beauty.

Thank you, madame butterfly :).

Most evenings we enjoy a cool drink on the patio.

Last night these three entertained us.

There is something very relaxing about watching butterflies glide through the air.

While not trying to sound like a butterfly bush advertisement, I can highly recommend this Pugster Blue Buddleia if you are looking to draw butterflies to your garden.

I first learned about them here.  Amazing, eh?

Laura has a wonderful YouTube channel called How's It Growing.  If you're not familiar, it can be found here.  

In other news, I am finally watching The Crown!

It seems like I've been seeing recommendations for this series for years (?)  I don't know why it's taken me so long to get onboard.  Last night I had to force myself to only watch 2 episodes.  Love it!!

Until next time,

July and Butterflies

Hmm...

 Be The Fireworks 

an interesting thought in light of our present situation.

In the early spring, when things were looking uncertain about whether we would be shopping at the garden centers, I ordered a butterfly bush online.  Having never done that before I wasn't sure what to expect.  It arrived looking healthy and has been thriving on the patio ever since.

While waiting for the butterflies to show up, I added this pretty plant stake to liven things up.

Just yesterday our first visitor arrived.

I was thrilled that it lingered long enough for me to snap a few photos.

After consulting my butterfly guidebook, I think it is a pipe vine swallowtail.  There are several swallowtails that look similar, so I could be wrong about that.

You may see another guest on the lower portion of the bloom in the photo above.  Are you familiar with that guy?  He is an unwelcome guest and I'm not ashamed to admit that when I encounter them, they are dropped to the ground and stepped on.  Squished... pulverized... take that Mr. Japanese Beetle!!

The butterflies have been showing up indoors too.

I felt a great sense of accomplishment upon putting the last piece in this beautiful puzzle.

My sister (Hi Norma) sent it to me as a gift quite awhile ago.  She is an expert at putting together 1000-2000 piece puzzles.  As for me, it had been years and years since I've done any.  After doing two with 500 pieces, I decided to challenge myself a bit more.  I won't set any speed records for finishing, but once things started coming together it was a wonderful way to pass the time at home.

I hope you are all staying well.

What's been keeping you busy lately?