Summer turns to Fall

September has always been such a transitional month and as I sit here writing, my dining room table is a perfect example of it. It's peak flower season - dahlias, snapdragons, nasturtiums and zinnias in multiple vases. A tiny pumpkin delivered from my neighbor's garden. A fresh set of beeswax candles. A plate of local apples next to a crate of nectarines next to today's tomato harvest and a small bowl of figs. And our figs on the tree are coming in! The earliest ones are ripening now - it's a month earlier than usual, thanks to the mild winter. 

Mike just finished reseeding the lawn. With all the messes we've made this year, there's a lot of grass to replant and resuscitate. It will look really nice when it's grown back in.

I'm currently taking stock and making lists of what perennials I would like to plant this fall for next year. The woodruff died in the back garden and needs a replacement. I have that strip of space between the greenhouse and the fence that I want to plant. I want to add in pink, deep dark violet and yellow irises with my bluish purple ones. Out front I want to add more asters for fall color. The balloon flower out front is the wrong height for the spot (I thought it was a dwarf one, it's not, so I need to move it and replace it). I'm also always a sucker for adding more tulips. And I've definitely had my eye on peachy pink daffodils for spring. I'm also making lists of what I want/need to make the greenhouse functional for the winter (potting bench and lighting, maybe more shelving...). 

I'm ready for mums but my front porch pots still look good (so maybe in a week or two). The boys wanted porch pumpkins and the universe answered with $4 beauties at Trader Joe's (though I'm sure actual overpriced pumpkin picking experiences are also in our future). Mentally I'm clinging to summer even if the chilly air this week is screaming FALL FALL FALL! If the pool is still up, it's still summer right?

I'm taking a pause from the endless to-do lists too. This is the time to enjoy what's left of the garden and the season. Drying another round of herbs. Pressing some summer flowers like dahlias, nasturiums, snapdragons, cosmos, zinnias. My cookbook stack makes a perfect flower press in the bookcase. 

It will be a few weeks before I can see how they came out. I made a bunch of pressed flowers in the spring - violets, daffodils, peonies, tulip petals, grape hyacinth. I forgot how pretty pressed flowers can be! The peonies were good enough to frame:

We're taking advantage of the short school days to get outside. Bikes, scooters, long walks with me fawning over all the wildflowers in bloom right now. 

These are the happy things I'm trying to focus on. The whole world feels like it's on fire right now - literally and figuratively - and it's going to be a long road back, hopefully for the better. But for now I'll remind myself of all the things that make me happy.