Mosaic Monday- Frosted

I woke up yesterday morning to a heavy frost on the ground. As much as I dreaded seeing it, it was actually quite beautiful. While still in my fleece pajamas and before coffee, I put on my coat and grabbed my camera and headed out to take a few pictures and enjoy the beauty of the delicate frost on my garden.

There is a late blooming sunflower that has just opened up and a few small roses on the Knock Out rose bushes. This frost pretty much finished up what was left of the cosmos.



I know a lot of people don't like the 'Purple Wave' petunias, but I love them and have them every year. They are so easy to grow from seed in my indoor growing system, I usually have a 100% success rate. There aren't too many flowers that I can say that about! When they start looking tacky in late summer, I cut them way back and they come to life again rewarding me with beautiful blooms well into autumn. They can withstand a significant frost and still look pretty. They can also withstand the heat and don't have to be pampered. Definitely a must have for me!

I'm linking today to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary, from the Little Red House. Hop on over and see her gorgeous fall collage!

Autumn at Potter's Bridge

Yesterday was another gorgeous day! My son and I went to Potter's Bridge and walked around the trails and took a few pictures. I am trying to teach him what little I know about photography and Potter's Bridge is the perfect place for picture taking.

My son will be a senior next year so we also took some practice shots for senior pictures. I've done Sr. pictures for several girls and I have to say it is easier for me to pose girls than guys, they also seem to be more natural in front of the camera. At least my guy hates having his picture made so getting a pleasant face is kind of difficult. I think we both need lots of practice before next year!

Indian Summer

Yesterday was one of those gorgeous "Indian Summer" days. My seventeen year old son and I spent the entire afternoon outside cleaning up and working in the yard. Since we homeschool we can pick our own fall break days and yesterday was a perfect day for no school!

My son enjoys physical labor and he was such a huge help to me! He mowed the grass, did the edging and weed eating. He removed everything from the front porch and we cleaned it well. We moved a huge grass that had grown too close to the air conditioner unit. (That was a chore for sure!). We removed three trees. We had several small crabapple trees that just were not performing well at all. I'm not sure why but most of the crabapple trees around here looked diseased this year. I did a lot of weeding and removing annuals that the freeze had killed. I moved three 'Knockout' roses and a few perennials that needed a little more space to spread.



I was able to get all of the new flowers planted. The sedum 'Autumn Joy', immediately attracted the attention of a cloudless sulphur butterfly and some honey bees.

The Asian lady beetles are very annoying right now. The farmers are harvesting the soybeans and corn and have stirred them up. They try to get into the house and they land on us whenever we go outside. I've heard that they stink, but I've never noticed.



I removed most of the cosmos yesterday, the few remaining flowers were attracting the hover flies today. The hover fly looks like a bee and is a very beneficial insect to have in the garden.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of a good day in the garden on a gorgeous autumn day. To top it off with a hardworking son with a good attitude and helpful spirit is absolute bliss.

Mosiac Monday- Colors of Autumn

The colorful leaves in autumn thrill me just about as much as any spring flower, well... that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but it's close. The colors are magnificent and often stop me in my tracks, especially during the "golden hour".

Photographers refer to the last hour before the sun sets, as the "golden hour". During this time the lighting is almost perfect and casts a beautiful golden glow. It is a wonderful time to photograph the rich, vibrant autumn colors.

Oh, did you notice the sweet little heart shaped leaf on the Kousa dogwood? I didn't even notice it until I was editing the pictures on the computer.

I'm linking today to the Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Fall Color

The cosmos are still going strong and they are about the only flowers in my garden that are providing pollen for the bees.



It has been quite chilly so I don't expect to see bees in the garden much longer, in fact I was pleasantly surprised to find this one sleeping. It had been drizzling earlier and he still looks a bit wet. He was so cute that I almost took Gail's challenge and reached out to pet him. I've been stung several times and the pain is still too fresh in my memory to chance it, but it was very tempting.



The leaves are such brilliant colors right now.



The maple trees are the most glorious shades of red, orange and yellow.





I spotted a cluster of trees on my way home from running errands yesterday and just had to stop and get a few pictures of the gorgeous leaves.



Such amazing colors!



I try to enjoy it and soak in the beauty as often as I can because it won't be long before the leaves are all on the ground and the trees are bare.