Moving in a holy dance

The seed hides the seedling, in the seedling hides the tree

In the holy tree hides all the seeds of forests yet to be

Gift of food, gift of shelter, blessed presence on this earth

She will lay her broken body down to bring new seeds to earth.

One great circle of life, living circle of love

Plants and trees, seas and rivers

and the blessed sky above.

Creatures great, creatures small

form the web that weaves us all

In the circle of life.

We are moving in a holy dance of life and death and birth.

from "Circle of Life" by Marty Haugen

a beautiful hymn that you can hear here.

The circumference of the circle of life seems small at this stage of my life, and especially in this season - perhaps my favorite season.  A brilliantly colored leaf stood out on the grass today, reminding me that soon the trees will be brilliant in the late afternoon sun behind my fence.  Already the sassafras is turning.

But there is new life in the garden even as the trees remind us so beautifully that

their branches will soon be bare.

The tri-color sedum is at its finest, and prettier this year than in years past.

Mums are full and promising a riot of blooms.

Hardy ageratum has budded and will soon color the garden blue.

And the asters that bloomed in Spring are back with their cheery yellow centers.

And the creatures that remind me most of this circle of life - the butterflies - are most abundant now.  Twice this week a tiger swallowtail danced in the air around me, and I was happy to resist the 

temptation to rush for the camera. Yesterday, on a walk through the neighborhood, I saw a giant swallowtail and took these pictures with my phone camera.

It is, indeed, a holy dance.

Wordless Wednesday - Late August Morning

Agastache Heatwave

Agastache Heatwave, Tri-color Sedum, Hot lips Salvia

Wordless Wednesday - Transition

cornus kousa, flowering dogwood

Camellia sasanqua, Northern Lights 

Nandina

tricolor sedum

hardy garden mum

September days

"September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours, but in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn. The cricket chirps in the noontide, making the most of what remains of his brief life. The bumblebee is busy among the clover blossoms of the aftermath, and their shrill and dreamy hum hold the outdoor world above the voices of the song birds, now silent or departed."

- September Days By Rowland E. Robinson, Vermont.

September days are warm but the cool mornings and evenings are such a blessing after our long hot summer.  Walking through the garden I see ravaged and tired plants alongside new buds and fresh blooms.  Butterflies and caterpillars are in abundance and bees are busy on the blooms of the Oranges and Lemons Gaillardia and the Tri-color Sedum.  

The Astilbe and Heuchera and some of the Hardy Ageratum have been devoured by bunnies or insects.  But I was happy to see that the fennel, though totally devoured, had been providing food for these black swallowtail caterpillars.

The late afternoon sun seemed to be shining a spotlight on the Lantana and this swallowtail.

And I loved the way the sun shone through the leaves of the Coleus and the Japanese Maple.

Trees and shrubs are adorned with berries - Nandina, Pyracantha, Dogwood, and Holly.

Soon the mums will be in bloom, the leaves will be falling, and we'll need sweaters to sit outside in the evening.  I can't wait!

Dog days

According to Wikipedia, "Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813. [1]"
It has felt hot enough for the seas to boil and wine certainly would have turned sour had we left it out in the heat.  I have been languid, but I have avoided hysterics.

Last week, while out in the early evening to mow while I weeded and watered,  my husband spotted a dog day cicada nymph.  These are not pretty, but they are amazing.

 Fortunately, there are still plenty of pretty blooms in the garden, despite the record high temperatures.

And each morning when my husband and I go out for our early morning walk, we're reminded that the days are getting shorter and summer will soon be waning.

The first blooms on the moonflower vine opened this week.

I started this from seed in a large container (with a trellis) on my porch, but it became obvious that it needed more room to grow, so I put it in the ground by the birdhouse.  Now it can grow up the birdhouse post.

The Sienna Sunset Coreopsis and the Fireworks Clematis are both blooming again, though this second round of Clematis blooms are smaller than the first.

The Summerlong Basil, the Pentas, and the Tricolor Sedum are all doing well in the summer heat.  

We enjoyed some of the basil in a pasta sauce for dinner tonight.

I'm looking forward to an evening cool enough to sit outside and smell the fragrance of those moonflower blooms!