Both K and I woke with sumac misgivings. It would be easy to shrug and think, “We won’t be here for that mess,” but such an attitude went against our better natures. We hardly had to take fifteen steps on our walk this morning without seeing yet another sturdy, rogue sumac, sometimes looking like it was growing out of rock. It was a bad idea. Out they went.
Sun today. Much cooler temps. We removed slates in front of the new fence where a gate used to be. I’ll fill in with astilbe, hosta, and flowers from the front. The front has gotten very messy looking. I find myself less enthused about remedying messes. My old “Hearts Style” of gardening (pass to the right, pass to the left, hold) is not well suited to aging bones!
I get to take another friend with a summer birthday out for lunch! Think: truffle fries with garlic mustard and a salad.
Fall is showing up in seed heads, withering leaves, and evening air. But yesterday, at last, K and I took a dunk in Crystal Lake. Like last year, we wondered, what took us so long? Why wait til the summer is nearly over?
We have plans to go to Colorado in a few weeks. Hope the virus surge doesn’t wreck that idea.
Lastly, we were so thrilled to meet what looked like another Carolina dog at the lake yesterday and then even more (perhaps weirdly) thrilled to learn that his name was Finn. I’d been in touch with C all day by text because he was spending the day at Billy’s where as you might remember I met my first dog of that breed. Delilah. I was hoping for some FaceTime (didn’t happen). It’s hard to connect still — there’s my brother’s aversion to phones, the time difference, and lots of napping on his end. So I took this odd coincidence as a wave from the west coast. It would have to do.
We didn’t share our reactions with Handsome Belly Tattoo Man who was so clearly bored by people asking if his pup was a Carolina dog and also in that phase of life where one barely registers people of a certain age. Too bad I didn’t have the nerve to take a picture of HIM.
Good to hear the temperatures are cooler and you ditched the Sumac! There are so many beautiful small trees/ tall shrubs available, young plants with well established root systems in tubes or plugs grow quickly & catch up to advanced plants planted out from large pots given a bit of encouragement & a little time.
We will probably get more clethra. I don’t love its scent but it gets nice and bushy in full shade and has done well behind out garage so may do well at the fence line too.
I guess I didn’t remember what kind of dog Finney is. Funny how our ‘certain age’ can be invisible. At least that’s what I think.
Finn isn’t a Carolina dog. He’s part Belgian Malinois and part collie. My brother has the Carolina dog. That’s what made it weird.
lovely dog, beautiful mosses and I really like your banner-image of the echinacea, what is it about NOT taking a dip? same here I’m afraid….has to be terribly hot for me to take the plunge, and OMG being invisible;-) don’t get me started…..
If I knew the answer to why we denied ourselves this convenient and refreshing pleasure, I would tell you!
I started swimming again this summer … why did I ever stop? … but going out in the middle of the day means sunscreen, which doesn’t come off, even in the shower … yuck
the rock pix are gorgeous … more collage fodder?
Why do we ever stop swimming indeed?