Autumn Revelry...

Skeleton Leaf

...A warm, sweet breeze floated through the window as it lightly whispered "September"!  Sunshine and fluffy clouds accompanied that welcomed breeze as I drank in the beginning of the fall season.  Officially autumn begins on September 23rd this year. Le Petit Jardin needed a bit of fall clean-up as I began preparations of fall gardening chores.  It had been a difficult summer to grow much of anything.  Our spring in Ohio brought lots of raining the first months of spring which held off the growing season.  Getting passed the flooding conditions, the gardens all had a late start and Barberton was no exception.  I am convinced that sunflowers would have been wonderful in Le Petit Jardin had it not been for the terrorist groundhog who ate my tender flower starts...twice!  Oh well, I will plant again next spring.  For now I will satisfy myself with a bouquet of store bought sunflowers and dream of next year.
     The lavender plants I added to my little garden failed to thrive.  So, at present I have one lavender plant left in Le Petit Jardin.  That hearty plant is from three years ago.  I am grateful to have any lavender in my garden.  It would seem that this is the a yer of really large spiders, too.  The ones I encountered would certainly qualify for Japanese horror films. One such big ugly spun a humongous web overnight across my door, the whole door.  It was a Halloween nightmare!  Of course I walked right into it.  Thinking I had cleaned it off my door, I walked into a new web several more times before I was able to kill the mastermind of mega spiders.  As I did clean-up duty in Le Petit Jardin I discovered several areas covered in heavy webs with gigantic occupants.  Really, guys!!! It isn't even October yet!  And what is that telling me about this winter?  It will be harsh and soon.  My plan is to enjoy the autumn season for as long as possible.  Some of the trees have already turned color and are dropping leaves.  Mostly, though, things are still pretty green.  Most people mark the end of summer with the Labor Day weekend, but officially it ends with the autumn equinox September 23rd.  We are there.  How I love fall with all its smells and spicy flavors.  My first taste of cider has kicked off the season for me.  It wasn't all I had hoped for, but the season is just beginning.  There will be better cider out there for me to sample.  I am certainly up for the challenge.

Dried Sunflowers

     A new addition to my household has arrived.  All summer a little black Manx kitty came to visit me whenever I puttered in Le Petit Jardin.  Finally, I could not stand the thought of her being outside during the Halloween season or during the winter months.  Bringing her in was easy.  Once my two kitty boys got used to her, life has been better. What a dear affectionate little cat she is.  I named her Midnight.  She has filled in that empty spot since my Miss Lily saw her final days.  Though I promised myself there would be no more pets in the household, she captured my heart.  Most likely she will be around for some time as she is barely a year old.     
   September is my birthday month.  I usually find many goodies with which to gift myself.  One such gift was that of attending a Japanese tea ceremony happening at one of the local art festivals.  I was thrilled to watch the ceremony being performed and had a wonderful chat with the performers afterwards.  The performers gave me a drink of the tea they used for the ceremony and offered me one of their special sweets they had to accompany the tea.  The day was gorgeous and the walk in the park was enjoyable.  I chatted with several friends both attending and exhibiting at the art show.  It was great day for me.  So now I have an even greater appreciation of tea and contemplation.  The only thing missing was a cookie...