Changing

It's a Saturday, yet another in a row without obligation. This is a new thing. Mostly kid related things used to fill our weekends. Now the list contains a lot of things that need some upkeep. Today I should be painting the front stair railing, transplanting daylilies out of the way of the Crowley Oil guy, sewing new covers for some living room furniture, and ordering new glasses, (to only bore you with a sampling!) What was a priority then doesn't exist now. The things that were set aside before, now demand attention. The list is just as long, but the type of things on it have just changed.

Instead, I wandered outside to grab a photo of the some new red roses that have just bloomed. (Add to my list, join a photography class and/or sell my old camera equipment and buy a new camera that is me friendly. Can I just take a close up of a rose that isn't blurry.)

From there, I couldn't go back inside. There is a crisp breeze and the sun is peeking in and out of the clouds. I glance down at the changing plants.

As I am in the habit of doing, I wandered back to the blackberries. I did leave one branch alone last week when I hacked away all the old stalks that were clearly done yielding fruit. This one stalk had red berries. Of course, today they were ready. Now, I do believe we are done with the blackberry season. What to do with this tiny handful of berries.

I stood there thinking how I have spent more time in my yard this summer than I have in a dozen years. The berries were a "must do" that drew me out there. Then often I stayed. Just wandered. Puttered. The city traffic would remind me that I was not in the country, but we are blessed with a larger yard and on a quiet time of day, I can forget that our place is surrounded by houses on all sides.

 I love the Columbine in summer. Even when it is long past it's bloom, it is interesting.

The oak tree that we never noticed that we had. We found it last year when these leaf and acorn clusters started falling. It had to have been there for a long time, but we just didn't notice. We cut the maples away from it to give it breathing room. 

This year we got about three Hydgrangea blossoms. Our 10 year old Endless Summer bush is pretty large, but it wasn't a great year for it. Our neighbor had the same "success". I should read up on soil testing and fertilizing. Right now as I drive around I see the beautiful white hydrangea trees in full bloom. Jennifer shared some of her white hydrangeas with Sarah for the wedding. 

Now it's back to reality. It's into the afternoon now and I've only accomplished outside wandering and gathering photos into a central place. I'll have these to come back to as a memory of  when things were still green but turning softer, more muted colors. Still beautiful in their different shapes and forms, but obviously different. Changing.