a time to move on

the time has come to move on and let nature take its course.

i am not talking about me going anywhere. what is moving on is time. the seasons.

we're several weeks into autumn. and while the cool temps have yet to really hit, there's something in the air..." to quote genesis. the air feels crisper. days are shorter.

the most visible thing are the leaves. they're falling. not all trees are experiencing it yet, but when i walked to the washington square store saturday, i encountered several trees whose leaves were yellow/orange, with many of them already on the sidewalk and yard. it struck me because there are still many "green" trees left and the sight was somewhat shocking. but pretty.

i enjoy fall. i like the cool weather and the season changing. it'sa lovely segue to winter, at least up here it is, anyway.

however, i'll be a little down come november and surely in december. why you may ask? well, i'm fond of our front yard. the two pieces between the walkway up to the porch look bountiful, with a combination of grasses, small shrubs and flowering plants as well as some vines that are beginning to grow ona tressel. there are flowers, mostly yellow and purple, that still adorn some of the plants.

in fact, i planted a large yellow-flowered plant sunday to a corner of the lawn. it looks like it belongs there. that side, the one on the left, needed some more color.

and i spent much time during the week watering the lawn, carefully spraying water over the various types of flora. i reach down sometimes and dig a finger into the ground, beneath the wood mulch and find the dirt wet. i know there is plenty of moisture there and the plants and floweres ae being cared for.

in addition, there is a small side yard where various herbs, peppers, tomato plants, small rose bushes and other plants are growing.

there is a small strip in teh back yard along the fence to the west. it's really only a section between the edge of the back of the house to the first tree, maybe 12 feet long and it stretches from the fence to an area five feet to the east. the border on that side is a strip of grass running north/south that i removed from the front when i added more flowers and plants up front.

there is a point to all of this.

as much as i love autumn, it's a time to move on. soon the days will shorten, winds pick up, frost in the mornings, then the inevitable snow.

with that change comes the eventually death of the plants and flowers i've so carefully watered and kept alive. yes, i know they are perennials and they will revive come spring. and i'm sure they'll come up even more brilliant and bigger. however, when i come up the walk in december, i know the flowers and plants that have greeted me with their presence will be gone.

do i sound mad? perhaps. perhaps to those who don't enjoy a good time gardening or caring for plants. i find it relaxing to water the plants. it'a time to reflect or to not think at all, simply relax, but the brain on park for a bit.