Their Last Glory

We have had a busy week. Perhaps the best part of the week for the garden was rain, much needed rain for two days. Previously, October had record setting heat. The lawn had started to brown just as the deciduous trees were beginning to change color. So while the lawn greened up, the wet leaves heavy with rain began to fall to the ground, dusting the ground beneath each tree with a blanket of gold. The two ash trees are two different varieties, each with their own personality. The first one in the row is full bodied tree on fire with reds, oranges, deep browns. It is probably my favorite tree. Second in line, the yellowed ash is the slowest to bloom and the first to shed her leaves. We have 3 ash tress on the property, which I treasure because they bring on the color.

Standing tall next to the  with patio, the honey locust isn't a bit shy with her color; bright with yellow, her leaves easily find their way into the house, especially when damp with rain, sticking to the bottom of our shoes, the dog's feet, the cat's paws. The largest of the leafy trees, it had immense  growth over the summer due to the large amount of spring rain. Soon these lovelies will be bare and asleep for the winter.


With the rain pouring down, I drug out my old London Fog rain coat. Oh, such good memories. The coat has been around for a long time. I bought it in 2001 for my first trip to England. It was water proof, light weight, easy to carry or pack. It traveled again with me when I packed it again for a wonderful tour of Ireland in 2003 and once again when our tour returned to England in 2003. At the university where I taught, one of the tenured professors whose field of study was the Romantic Period of English literature put together these tours for the  English majors studying English literature. They were wonderful tours so well planned to trace to steps of England and Ireland's great writers, the highlight of my life. So now to take out the old coat when it rains, I wrap myself in sweet memories, protected from the foul weather. The zipper doesn't work any more because Mo the cat went through a fabric chewing phase and the coat fell victim. He ruined so many of my favorite garments. The London Fog has a row of snaps, too, so I can snap it shut if it is really cold. I wore my old friend this week. It felt good. We had a bit of a chat and decided that perhaps we should travel again.

                           

The roses are in their last flush. Gertrude Jekyll looks amazing here at the end of the season. Drenched in rain with the dust washed off, she looks as sweet as she smells. Next to her, First Prize, blooms, proudly displaying her huge blossoms. It seemed to take all summer for the roses to reach their full potential. They were slow to break through in the spring, slow to bloom, and slow to reach their mature sizes. Well worth the wait, I'd say.

                              

Veteran's Honor out did herself again at the end of this season. Huge and red with perfect rose buds. For some reason a camera just does not capture the glorious shade of red. In fact, I used my iPhone camera for all of tonight's post.

 Glorious in their mosaic, I hope they look good for Mosaic Monday. Be sure to check out all of the great mosaics at Lavender Cottage.

Desperate for interesting stuff to add to the post this week, I'll share my Facebook post titled "We have a very bad dog."

This Boone Doggle will go to any lengths to root out the cat, even destroy the bed skirt. Shame on him.

There you have it. Another week down as we move through Autumn. I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather, the gorgeous colors, hot soups, and a slower pace. 

Happy Halloween, too.

Thanks for taking time to visit.