It is beautiful mid-fall here. Just a tad on the dry side, Sunny, absolutely clear blue skies, just enough wind to make the trees talk. Temps relatively cool for us, high in upper 60'sF and a frost advisory tonight--the first of the season. The atmosphere is so clear that the stars seem to sanp, crackle and pop at night.

My front garden is popping with color--bright orange tithonia "Torch" stands about 7 feet tall. In front of it tall, willowy salvias in deep blue and sky blue. Then, a dahlia-that absolutely saturated red that only red dahlias acheive--nods over a large drift of single-apricot chrysanthemums. In just a place or two, common montbretia sends a stalk up through the mums, echoing the tithonia.

The hummingbirds are gone now, dispite the bounty. They've hightailed it to Mexico in advance of killing frosts. We have a couple of hives of bees. They are frantically at work among the flowers, as if they know the time of bloom is drawing to an end. Goldfinches perch on echinecea and verbena gone to seed. Cardinals join the goldfinches in going after tithonia heads that have gone to seed. Their red feathers in amongst the orange flowers is a real eye catcher.

Fall is nearly always an absolutely lovely weather season here.

Joybell and Freda--hope this year's warm weather season is not as dry as you fear.

Peace.

Janie