Time to smell the flowers

The first 4 months of my season .... April through August .... the lists are long, the days are too short and the pressures and worries can be overwhelming. I dig. I plant. I weed. I clean.  I sow. I worry. I smile. I hug. I cry. I become worn and tired.

But come September, I can breath again.

The air is crisp, the kids are back at school ........ and the garden and the excitement that garden brings, is fading.

After a very wet year, the flowers are dwindling.  The zinnias are still in their glory.

I feel like I can now enjoy the flowers.  I can take the time to relax and arrange.  It is the time of year, I can relax with our friends and celebrate the season.

I can pull out the vintage china and the un-matched thrift store goblets.  I can separate eggs for an angel food cake.  And I can slowly begin to serve the jars of plenty from our harvest.

These dishes were my grandmother's.  I recently found an additional six place settings at one of my favorite thrift stores ....... for $5.00!! 

But like the dishes, the air of autumn takes me to the memories of  the year.  The flowers that fizzled, the friendships that blossomed and the hope for refreshing rains of spring. Like the perennial Cub fan wishing for a pennant, farmers dream and hope of a better growing season.

The flowers will continue to bloom for a few more weeks.  I hope that you will still visit.

For in fall ........ the colors of the zinnias, the blueness of the sky and the reflection of the summer past are brighter and clearer than ever. May you enjoy the clarity of your heart.