Kermit May Not Agree

 The planting bed at the east side of our home is filled with wonderful greens, reds, fuschia and pinks, and although there are times I would love to add in more colors, there is simply not room.  We purchased our home in 2013 and have only added two bushes to this area since that time, the two butterfly bushes.

 One of the plants I love are the hosta, mostly just green, but a couple of varigated ones as well.... and they have light lavender blossoms, which by this time in August are just stalks that have been left behind that at one time held the lavender blossoms.

 Because their blossoms don't last long, and for the most part they are only big green leaves, they are sometimes seen as a boring plant, and there are SOME people who find them to be simply boring.

 Kermit may not agree with you.

He's a frog.... and frogs don't hide beneath these broad shady leaves.... but the toads on our property find them to be a great place to hide from the heat of the summer days, a place to burrow into and sleep safely through the night, a place to keep the heavy rains off their wee little heads.

 I like to think that they find comfort in this area of our property.

 Our hard rains the past two evenings brought down a few branches from the crepe myrtle which is now in high bloom, and some the petals have been scattered onto the bed below.

 The greens of summer are nothing like the greens we see here in the springtime, which are softer, less vivid and a sign of new life.

 Instead, the darker greens of August are a reminder that things will change in a matter of weeks.

These greens that Kermit loves so much are already bringing cooler nights to our doorstep,

more deer to the yard, more doe and their fawn, more bucks.... everyone already starting to fatten themselves for what lies ahead for all of us.

 And the Queen Anne's Lace is so lovely, like a white umbrella amidst the rainy ferns.

The clock runs far too fast for us these days, with it's tick tock tick tock from winter to spring, followed by summer to fall and then it re-winds and all happens again.

We can't keep up.

And tomorrow I'll bring you the fuschia of the crepe myrtle followed by a tomato that has begun to ripen.

My husband is pretty excited about THAT!

The Ho Hum Heated Days Of Late Summer

 Mid August and the crepe myrtle is nearly at the end of her beauty as the heat and humidity drag the weight of the branches to the ground.  It may be time for a trim job on that mophead of hers.  LOL

 The pups hang out near the front porch,

 and the gloomy dead potted flowers have served their summer needs, no longer looking like flowers at all, but rather dead, brown weeds needed to be pulled and tossed into the forest.

*Izzy, as always, interested by a bug*

 The local preying mantis hangs onto the outside of the screen hoping to snag a hornet or two in the nest nearby.   Of course it could be a hornet that wins the battle as well.

And last but not least.... a butterfly seeking shelter from the heat in the shade of the front porch.

Summer at it's worst.

Summer at it's best.

Won't Worry Our Little Heads

 The first week of August has already passed us by,

 and already the days are shorter and the nights are longer....

and it no longer stays light until after nine at night.

 It's nothing to worry our sweet little heads about.

 It just means that we are one week closer to October.

A change in the look of the light, and we all breathe a bit easier knowing that the cooler days are near.

Another cloudy/rainy day and my soul feels relief from the torturous heat of summertime.