The Fall of Autumn

pyrancantha 

Autumn is living up to its name...it is falling in. I wish I could put my arms up and push it back. No matter how much I don't want it to come, it is... to quote Carl Sandburg "tiptoeing in on little cat feet". Every day we move another inch closer to autumn and I hate it. Not that I don't like autumn, as season's go it is tolerable, but I feel like I didn't even get to experience summer this year. We have been consumed by responsibilities and duty,and our home has suffered for it. We have had no pleasure in owning this place this year. It is exhausting and makes me feel beat down to try to keep up with this old house.

 The screens of the screened porch blew out by last winter in the blizzards and wind storms. We did not have the time and ability to repair them before summer. Hence, we could not enjoy the outdoors by being in the screen porch as we have in previous years. The screens on the porch are ugly to look at, but wonderful to enjoy...when you can't enjoy them they are just plain ugly again, and painful to look at. The ungodly heat and drought also took its toll in many ways. Our air conditioning blew up in August of 2010 and it has yet to be repaired. Its one of those things that have been ignored and tossed aside because the "responsibilities" had to be done first...not to mention the 8k it will take to fix it ourselves! The heat fried all of the vegetable garden. We took at the most five tomatoes out of the garden. I spent a hundred dollars planting it! A hundred dollars for five tomatoes is not a suitable pay off and that doesn't even take into consideration the work I put into both vegetable gardens. Disappointing does not begin to describe the feelings I have about my gardens being fried by the sun.

cosmos

buddleia

buddleia bush

The flower garden was equally dismal. Almost every  perennial looks like over cooked bacon. The flower heads are brown and crisp. It is a generous description to refer to what was at the top of the stems as flowers...they weren't! Not one bouquet, not even a tiny one came out of the garden this summer. I do have a couple of hopeful wisps of green right now. I planted an envelope or two  of Cosmos seeds in mid June. Here we are in September and I have one bloom, the first all summer. That's it to the left here. Below I have a photo of what the rest of them look like. They appear to be dinner for spittlebugs. I don't know if I made that up because I am mad or if that is the bugs real name..If you know I would appreciate a comment so I can learn something. Anyway they are coverd with what looks like saliva...pretty gross. Lots of green, no flowers. No other flowers are much better. The butterfly bush has attracted some butterflies...there don't seem to be too many this year...and some hummingbirds enjoy it too, so that has had a small pay off and it does smell wonderful walking past it in the yard.  Not much of a color show though, you can see it here in the photos.

This has been a real downer of a posting. I apologize for sharing my pain, but then again maybe you have experienced the same and are looking for a sympatico soul to sympathize with your plight. I hope so! It has just been a really difficult year. I must remember, this too shall pass....so will I! Hope I live long enough for all to level out and to really enjoy life here for a bit yet before I have to go.... I must say I do have a cranking Pyrancantha bush up top  and below don't I? They must love dry conditions and heat.

Pyrancantha bush