Touching my heart

Our white Anniversary roses are gorgeous.

I shall dry them.

Our chocolates were delicious.

We bought four pounds of figs at the market today.

We plan on making fig preserves.
Enough to last the year.

I watch the Wind Spinner.

The autumn flowers are opening.

I will watch the Monarch's chrysalis.

I have moved it indoors so I can take notes.

We say goodbye to August.

It has been a very fun month.

I am looking forward to September.

It is beginning

The leaves on the Dogwood are beginning to turn.

Autumn is coming.

The Hackberry Emperors have three broods each Summer.

The female Tiger Swallowtail in her black dress always makes me smile.

She could live inside with me if she would like that.

I would!

We watched the Harvesters mate.

There will be Harvesters next year now.

The Moon is waning.

I am making plans.

The waning crescent Moon is a thinking time for me.

Smitten

Every August I become smitten with the Morning Glory.

They greet me in the early morning.

I love their colors.

My son gave me the Heavenly Blue seeds years ago.

I love the way Morning Glories reseed.

The female Tiger Swallowtail in her black form continues

to come to the Butterfly Bush each day.

I would plant Butterfly Bushes just for her....

I am thinking about making a moss garden for Winter.

I like the idea of it.

I always have books about to inspire.

Now when I weed my roots look different to me.

I liked this idea and cleaned out the drawer under my stove and removed the cast iron muffin pan I have not used
for years. Now it is ready to fill with buttons and beads and other notions I will need for winter projects.

Pin cushions continue to delight me.
I have made many but still I do love them.

I am working on my forced bulbs.
I have 84 white tulips in the refrigerator cooling.
It takes 8 weeks of cool and 8 weeks in soil for blooms.
I will begin potting up tulips the middle of October for December bloom.

I also have ordered 200 white tulips and 100 white crocus for the Wind Spinner front bed. They will ship the end of September.
I think they will look lovely next spring.

I want to make all sorts of bags.
I have lots of silk.
I think silk bags will be my winter sewing project.
I would love to sew up all the silk that is in my basement!

I am gathering white flower seeds for a garden I am planning.
It will be next Spring when I plant.
For now I am gathering, planning and dreaming.
I am learning what flowers will grow best in my
hot and humid Summer.

Cool Down

The Carolina Wren is so cute.

I always smile when he is about.

The Hackberry butterfly

enjoyed the banana I put out.

This afternoon I brought out the scrapbook I am working on.
 I made it from the shopping bags I acquired while on vacation.
Today I used an awl and punched holes through the folded paper.
I made a binding with yarn from my 2010 road trip.

Now I am working on each page.
I'll need another crafting session before I am finished.

I finished my nightgown.
Next sewing project is to make a hat liner.
This straw hat is too uncomfortable
 without some sort of inner band.
I had a piece leftover from my nightgown.
I will see what I can do.

While crafting I heard the Wind Harp.
It has been months
 since I heard her sweet song.

It only plays when the wind is out of the north.
I saw a few berries beginning to ripen in the Dogwood.
Autumn is winking at us.
Tonight it is to be in the low 60's.
I just had to be outside.
It was too lovely to be indoors.

When end of Summer days are cool
it is easy to love Summer.

The Hummers will be here for another couple of months.
I want to spend as much time with them as I can.
The butterflies will leave too in just a couple of months.
I will sew and finish my scrapbook when it rains again.
I want to be outside in the gardens.
I want to be with the bugs and the birds.

Full of Life

I am getting more photographs ready
 for Bird Sings.

Cards have been doing very well.

We are now going into a product line.
I do like royalty checks.

I needed a break from going through photographs
so I grabbed the camera and went outside.

A Giant Butterfly was in the butterfly bush.

And so was a Monarch.

A Carolina Wren

and a juvenile Northern Cardinal came to the deck.

The sunflower garden continues to bring much pleasure.
It was cooler today, high in the low 90's.
Much better than 107F!

I replenished the sugar water in my butterfly nectar pots.

Luffa is an interesting plant to grow.
When my friend grew it years ago I remember it was huge vine.

I made red cabbage mini roses for our table.

and a new tablecloth with napkins.
I needed something for August.
Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow.
I hope so.
We need it.
The gardens need a good long drink.
They are full of life.