Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Saying Goodbye to Summer. Again.

I was going to say that summer is winding down but I guess I need to face it; summer is over.



Asters and calendula counterpoint.






A successful dahlia from a tuber I overwintered.












Clematis seed heads.






Garlic harvest.






Ginger in pot.












Joe Pye seedheads.






Reblooming larkspur.







Plume poppy seedheads.














Number One chicken.







Sunflowers in veggie garden. Probably our biggest "crop".













Datura - "Moonflower".






Finch on sunflower.








Monarda Bergamot.











Alice and friends.







Fireworks goldenrod.












Mums.







Porch pedestal.











Girls at their seedblock.




This summer, as most, went by way too quickly. (See this post for why.)

I tried a coordinated color scheme for the front containers this year.
Didn't especially like it. I think I'll go back to my hodge-podge norm next year. I also need to face the fact that our front container garden is now mostly shade and I need to stop planting things that need full sun. Gees. I like full sun flowers. Oh well.

Yesterday Kim discovered a nest behind a tomato plant in the fenced in veggie garden. The next was filled with 14 eggs. Chicken eggs. Now wasted chicken eggs. Ginger is the only chicken we have who is thin enough to fit through the veggie garden fencing. She must be the offending chicken.

Now we're like most people who raise chickens and realize they enjoy laying their eggs in places other than the proper nesting box. So we'll be checking this nest daily from now on. Bad chicken!

What have you learned over the summer?

11 comments:

Randy Emmitt said...

Guys,
Meg turned the heat on Sunday it has been so clod already. Can't imagine it being anything but cold there in Idaho. Loved the photo collection!

Emily said...

i love the "ginger in a pot" photo--it looks like a painting. i'm not quite ready to give up on summer yet, not while so many tomatoes remain on the vines--it's not fall until the first frost! that's one thing i've learned this summer...plant earlier tomato varieties.

Southern Lady said...

What great pictures! Such a lovely way to say goodbye to summer. That chicken sounds like she has a mind of her own! Carla

François-Xavier DAVID said...

L'été est bien parti ici aussi, les températures sont très fraiches le matin, difficile de ne pas mettre du chauffage, mais nous avons encore quelques beaux après midis.
Bisous
FX

Kathleen said...

hmmm, I don't know. I'd say with your photos we could stay in denial for a while longer and "say" it was still summer. So many pretty blooms still happening for you Victoria.
I never knew chickens made nests like that. Interesting. Your "girls" sure keep you on your toes!

Fuzz said...

Ha ha; Ginger in the pot photo is cute :) Out of my 4 chickens, one likes to change nest locations all the time--sometimes the nest box, sometimes behind a big planter, sometimes behind the compost....found a few in a cardboard box once. Bad chicken, indeed... :)

Unknown said...

Summer can't be over I still haven't seen my one Dahlia. LOL Don't know if it was the strange weather or I planted a bit too late. O'well live and learn. Love all of your flower pictures but love 'the girls' pictures too. hehehe

Pat said...

No, no no...it's not over. Can't be with all your beautiful blooms like the Datura.
I guess it's time to collect seeds, so it is over but still looking great.
Autumn is a refreshing season...feels good.

garden girl said...

Even though the goldfinches left a couple of weeks ago, I'm still in happy denial of summer's end. The warm weather here has been cooperating with keeping me in denial. :)

Very nice collection of photos. Your girls look very sweet in spite of the egg-hiding shenanigans.

Anonymous said...

You've been so busy! I don;t know how you do it, but I would love to run again. My ankles give out on me from a former ice skating accident, and my knee seems to not want to heal from putting up the fence.
The chickens are so beautiful! I had no idea chickens would lay other than a nesting box. That's a lot fo wasted eggs. I pay four to five bucks a dozen for farm fresh eggs. But they taste like liquid sunshine compared to the store ones, don't they?
You should publish your pics professionally. They are sooo nice!

D said...

Victoria, summer is over, isn't it? It got down to 34 here the first of the week and at one point I had peppers and tomatoes all over the countertops. Finally! all taken care of.

The photos and blossoms are lovely and I do love the header photo.

By the way, congratulations on the Marathon! I know what it is to run a 10K (oh no, not anymore... knees are gone) and cannot imagine what you accomplished.