Last throes of summer

It seems shockingly hard to believe, but fall is almost upon us. This summer has been brief, cool and restless, blowing snow across the prairies and beaming hot sun upon our heads all within a week. Poor plants hardly know what to do with themselves, and my co-worker has daylilies that haven’t opened up yet. It’s the end of August, and that speaks for itself.

 In my garden all the flowers are shedding their last blooms, throwing off seeds and fluff and enjoying their last few weeks of light. Here’s some Friday photos of my last fall flowers.

 Last blooms - pink

Last blooms - yellow

 

For me fall is always bittersweet. On one hand it’s a beautiful season with everything changing colors and dressing up in striking yellows, reds and oranges, and on the other hand it’s the sadness of shorter days, the first hints of frost in the air, and the dying of the greens as they prepare for their long hibernation.  I’d take summer over any other season any day, but if I lived in the land of summer, I’d have to put up with year round spiders! So I don’t.

 

Last blooms - spider