Monday, November 9, 2020

That Flirtatious Essence of Autumn

 








Sweetgum tree leaf blew in from somewhere


Red oak leaf from yellow to brown


Sometimes pinkish red Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum leaf


Fothergilla gardenii leaves turning from yellow to a beautiful rusty orange


Joe Pye Weed turning yellow then brown in autumn



Creativity has dumped me for greener pastures, perhaps because it tires of whole grain crackers slathered in almond butter and peach jam over and over and over again, an eclectic collection of bean stews that never ever mercifully end, or three course dinners that start with #1 at noon, #2 at three, and #3 at whatever time I get to it.  This no structured environment of retirement has a way of numbing my ability to evolve.

The golden years began with a pinched hip nerve that brought on an early retirement.  Knowing the immense pleasure of pure pain, the foggy rush of morphine lowering blood pressure below two hundred, and the onslaught of oxycodone prescriptions and other mind whirling garbage...well, let's just move on to the better stuff that was ahead.

Physical therapy made a dent in my predicament, but steroid shots for a knotted up shoulder muscle that created havoc with my neck muscles that had an ongoing battle with the masseuse to never lose the war, became a routine.  The panic attack that landed me back into the emergency room, signaled it was past time to delve into the workings of a mind that was so much at odds with itself.

My short summation on mental therapy is that it works, but not the way I envisioned it would.  I am what I choose to be.  I am the master of how my life evolves.  It's pretty simple.  I've made a few good choices, and I've made an unsurmountable number of bad choices...my bad.  I learn and move on, always living in present time, not past regrets or future worries time.

A year of therapy to learn how to create something better, then a half year of therapy to learn how to live with the fact that what doesn't want to change will never change, no matter how much I wish it did.  Acceptance is the most difficult pill I have ever had to wash down my throat with an ocean of water.

I look at the world around me, and hope isn't even a word in my vocabulary; but moments change moment by moment, days change day by day, weeks change week by week, months change month by month...and on and on and on.  To know that which I have no control over is to know that which I can change.  Worry isn't an option.  So, while the world seems to be imploding all around me, I am okay.




Gossamer Mushroom in the Dandelion Patch
Done in by one nibble two many.




Here we go again...thought this was a wasp when it landed for a photoshoot, but no...it's a hover fly.


Summersweet turning to yellow


Honeybee on Goulimyi Autumn Crocus


American Dogwood, then Fothergilla gardenii in the background




American Dogwood




I find it impossible to photograph this area to a true depiction of its essence.
It's the heart of the wildflower garden.
The dogwood tree has more branches than would appear, 
and the area has a vibrant life full of birds, insects, and mammals.


Husband cut down a stray tree seedling before discovering it had an occupant.
This adorable little green tree frog was so kind to humor me as I took photos.
We placed his seedling perch back into the garden
 before he hopped off and disappeared. 




Above is the red of dogwood leaves on a cloudy day.
As the sun behind the cloud cover approached the horizon, 
the leaves began to take on a glow of fire
while the sunset was a typical grey blue to gray to grayer.  Go figure.






Garden Shed ~ Painted two coats of primer and calling it quits for this year.  I'll tackle the finishing paint job next year, maybe.  The workers did a halfway lousy job building this project so we halted the tail end of the job, and after a bit of negotiating, we were refunded a big chunk of the cost.  Right now we're just trying to get it seaworthy for winter :(


Time for a rest




Scrapbook Journal Project stored neatly in desk drawer for the last three years. 
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I'm starting this project...maybe, 
right after moving all the desktop junk to the kitchen table :)




Autumn is the baring of branches as the clusters of colorful and sometimes rather drab leaves drop with a light muffled tat tat tat as they hit obstacles on their decent to layer upon layers of family and friends already on the ground.  Its nature's community blanket for the oncoming cold, and composted food for the eventual returning of warmth.  It's a home for a barrage of insects that sustain the continuation of a healthy garden.

My garden leaves stay where they fall, but the patio and deck leaves are chopped
up and mixed into the top layer of soil in the raised beds.  Whole leaves are piled into the planters as a blanket of mulch, and the left over whole leaves rest in bags in the garden shed to replenish that which blows away in the coming months, as surrounding mowed grass yards offer no wind protection in the onslaught of winter.

I walked through my gardens this morning as I always do at the beginning of my day.  It's my spiritual refuge from the noise of news and opinions and hate.  I could stay there forever, but my life has more facets than that, that pull me in other directions throughout my day and evening.  It's my go to when I need calming, even if only viewed through a curtain rimmed window.

I've been calling it that flirtatious essence of autumn, that lingering whiff of scent that comes and goes when I am near the arbor and rain garden.  A sweet musty spicy earthy aroma that I cannot fathom where it originates.  It keeps drawing me back to inhale more of that pleasurable intoxication that comes only this time of year.

Yesterday I was serenaded by an amorous grey squirrel on a high branch of the white ash tree, but today I was privileged to watch two grey squirrels on a mission to annihilate each other in what I think was a territorial dispute.  I hope it wasn't a love match made in the bowels of hell.  Anyway...high 70's this Sunday day, and it's a great time to relax outdoors, and think of this blog at a later date.  Be safe and enjoy life.








22 comments:

  1. You have captured the season so well..i loved the array of leaves!

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  2. My favorite pics are not only the beautiful leaves, but also the little green frog and the squirrel, they are so cute!!

    Enjoy your week
    Arti

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  3. Interesting post, well written, with much to think about. Autumn remains one of my favourite seasons, despite the fact that so many birds are leaving, but others take the place of at least some of them, so nothing is lost completely. I heard the first reports of Common Redpolls yesterday. Must get out and search the hinterland. As for the workings of the new blogger, easier to work out the mystery of the Rosetta Stone.

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  4. I see you like autumn leaves. I do to. They are so interesting when they change color and drop to the ground :)

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  5. Hello,

    Love your cute pup! Beautiful Autumn images. I gave up trying to fix post on the new blogger, I just accept that I get a post published. Take care, enjoy your day!

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  6. I love how your eye can find all the little details of nature in a garden. And your pup is a sweetie pie!

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  7. Oh what a wonderful post and series nature's photo ~ so creative and glad to hear you are OK ~ you knew that anyway right??? Love your doggie ~ so sweet ^_^

    Live each moment with love,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  8. ...Yvonne, I ALWAYS enjoy my visits to your garden, you have a sophisticated palate of plants that you use. Thanks and I'll be back.

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  9. I’m saving “whatever will I do” for my journal (the one in the drawer that I will take out and finish one day)). I am known for worrying about my ice cubes in the ocean )). And other things over which I have no control. And which may never happen. Etc. Thank you for sharing your journey! You take the most beautiful flower photographs. (And grow them so beautifully in the first place,)

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  10. Your photos never cease to astound me, Yvonne!

    I love, love, love the little green frog!

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  11. great pictures and wonderfull colours
    the little frog is so sweet ;)

    your post has a lot to think about
    I hope you are fine

    Blogger : mark the text then press the button
    or copy and paste text in the correct configuration

    Rosi

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  12. Wow, that's a lot in one post! I'm glad you shared with us the beauty you find and the personal issues you have resolved.

    As for Blogger, you might try checking the preview to see if it is correct there (sometimes the changes are not visible in the post edit window). Beyond that, clearing the format (T with line through it) may help. Or, as I have had to do, just post it the way it is, as we all know there are still problems with Blogger's 'new' design and understand :)

    Thanks for sharing your link at 'My Corner of the World' this week!

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  13. For me the picture of the dog is the best, I love dogs, and he is very cute. But the other pictures are also very good. Such a frog I never saw before in my life.
    The problem, which you have with blogger, was one of the reasons I changed to Wordpress. With blogger I always faced strange Problems and I spent very often a lot of time solving them.

    Many greetings
    Wolfgang

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  14. The last photo is my favourite - I love dogs so much. We have an giantschnauzer. Coco ist her name,
    Kirsi

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  15. Hello,
    Love your cute pup, the frog and pretty garden images! I hope you are feeling better, it is good when therapy helps you to feel good again. I am just learning to put up with the Blogger problems, hoping for improvements. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day. Have a great weekend.

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  16. Fall can be such a melancholy time. Green fading away to browns, reds, and yellows. But still so beautiful in a different way.

    It is amazing that it is so hard to realize that we are each masters of how our lives evolve. I'm glad you have learned to live in the present time and are able to share your garden with your beautiful pictures.

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  17. Hello. Beautiful serie of photos. The frog and the dog are cute.
    Have a nice sunday.

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  18. Nice series of leaves..Love the kitties and the dog..Stay safe

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  19. Beautiful autumn leaves, dear Yvonne, and a great green frog model! :-D
    The story, which began with a pinched hip nerve, sounds violent and drawn-out and painful, but you sound like you are in peace with yourself.
    You asked me for the receipe of the pumpkin-apple pie - here it is:
    https://sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de/das-rezept/einfacher-apfel-kuerbis-kuchen-83226
    You can paste the link in Google-translate, then the recipe will be translated for you. (I made a normal vanilla sauce without calvados - and caramelized apple pieces as a topping.)
    Thanks for the hint that my flowers are California Poppies. And thanks for reading Kater Maxwell's accident story too!
    Hugs and best wishes,
    Traude

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  20. I really like what I can see of your autumnal nature garden in November!

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