Early Autumn Joy

I am so happy it is fall. Autumn & spring are my favorite seasons. 

This summer I battled invasive vines creeping into the garden, but I'm pleased to find one of these vines is honeysuckle vine. I may have to find some beautiful iron trellising to put out for it to climb, instead of the shrubs and trees. Honeysuckle reminds me of my loving grandmother. I remember watching hummingbirds nectaring like crazy from her impressive honeysuckle that grew in her courtyard garden in northern California. Honeysuckle vine is not only adorned with flowers, but also with lovely translucent red berries in the fall.

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The paths throughout the garden are lined and carpeted with moss, which is becoming greener by the day with the bit of rain showers we are finally receiving. 

On Sunday we had a visit from over a dozen woodpeckers and quite a few other birds, all at once.  

Every year at this time these woodpeckers and other birds gather here. I'm not sure why, but we are going on 5 years of this kind of reunion. It's great and always fun to watch.

That is one of the many things about autumn that I love. I love seeing the animals gathering & preparing for winter.  As I sat at the birding bench last week, speaking with my mister, a teeny tiny, long nosed, black furry went scurrying along on an old mossy stump. He was collecting fallen bird seed. He was my favorite little furry, a pygmy shrew! I wish I would of had my camera on me then. He was so charming. 

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The garden and forest are beautiful as ever, with the golden glow and warm tones of autumn and everything sparkles after the rain.

I'm anticipating the maple and redbud trees to start turning. 

Huckleberry pickin' dog ; )

What does an early autumn bouquet from the garden look like?

A bouquet of Rugosa roses, Rosemary sprigs, Bay leaves, and a bit of Fir, blown down by the wind.

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