Summer will not go away here. Dry, dusty, still as death and hot. We did get enough rain to add about a foot to the pond. Caladiums are fading, Lantana and Salvia thriving, Virbena is back from the heat of summer, grass fading but slowly, pasture blue stem is beginning to bloom.
Still have tomatoes and all kinds of peppers but they too are wearing out. The herb garden persists.
We had a bumper crop of pears and made jam and canned spiced pears.
I will not pull up blooming flowers to plant Pansies and so they go in very late or not at all. February and time to prep for the next year will be here sooner than one thinks. Cleaning up a small mountain of pine needles, chestnut husks and leaves has been facilitated since I built a big leaf bucket for the tractor.
The winds of winter will be here soon enough and our brief season of carrying wood to the stove which I doubt is a net gain but nice to have and see the flames until the glass is covered with soot.
We have not had one hint of a crisp fall day yet though and don’t see one in the forecast. By this time of year we have usually seen at least one or two decent cold fronts. Our first frost should be here about the middle of November. Meanwhile I am still mowing the lawn.
I couldn’t live/garden in a warmer climate; 6 months of a growing season is MORE than enough work for me!
Starting in November, I long to see everything covered in a pristine layer of SNOW. *SIGH* We love our winter sports; snowshoeing, ice fishing, taking out the sleds (snowmobiles), etc.
I’ll go further North if I have to - no further than ‘tomato growing weather’ - but not South. ;)