Before the rain

I went to Noerenberg Memorial Gardens yesterday

for a walk with my camera.

With cloudy skies above and the garden moving from full summer to early fall, there were still flowers in bloom but I found grasses and foliage more interesting to photograph than flowers. The bees were active and plentiful among the remaining blossoms. And I also saw one monarch butterfly and a green hummingbird that haven’t yet identified.

Can anyone identify this hummingbird? It appeared to be mostly green. As you can see, it moved so fast I only managed to get a blurred image of it.

I wandered the garden paths by myself beneath cloudy skies. And I left the paths to wander under the trees picking fallen up leaves, acorns, and chestnuts. Everywhere I looked I could see the signs of fall and I even felt a bit of fall in the air. Under the chestnut tree there were many fallen chestnuts that the squirrels had already opened up and eaten. I felt lucky to find a couple of them that had lost their outer covering but were still intact. I find their shiny deep brown shells quite beautiful.

Melancholy Day

Despite the beauty of the gardens, the day felt melancholy to me. Some days feel like that. I have been feeling a heaviness watching continuing news of fires out west, lies told by our president, and reporters waiting for the next big outbreak of COVID. How can one see the fires and storms (like the one that hit Cedar Rapids, Iowa last month) that have ravaged our world without feeling sad?

I need a little sunshine and perhaps to take a few days off from the news. And I think I need a vacation from writing daily blog posts and more time in the garden and the woods while the weather is still relatively warm. The weather forecast is predicting a warmer week ahead.

The Gardener

Have I lived enough?
Have I loved enough?
Have I considered Right Action enough, have I

     come to any conclusions?
Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?
Have I endured loneliness with grace?

I say this, or perhaps I’m just thinking it.
     Actually, I probably think too much.

Then I step out into the garden,
where the gardener, who is said to be a simple man,
     is tending his children, the roses.

—Mary Oliver

So I plan to take a week or two off from writing or posting on my blog. It’s my birthday present to myself. I shall soak in all the warmth and beauty I can while it’s still warm. Take care and be well until we meet again, if only through the words and images of this blog.

May you walk in beauty.