End of Summer.......

I know it has been a while since my last posting.....The end of summer is always so busy...my granddaughter came to visit...doing end of summer garden work....and so on....

This evening I took a walk through my garden and marveled at the beauty that is still out there...so I thought everyone might enjoy what I saw too......

What started it all was the Cardinals that were in the yard!

This juvenile is getting his adult feathers and I can't wait to see him when he has them all....






I think he was scolding me for taking pictures of him in his ugly state!  LOL

I haven't had the butterflies this year I usually get....I did have a Monarch that visited my milkweed plants....hoped she would lay some eggs...but didn't....

This Skipper....







and the Silver-spotted Skipper, which has been hanging around for a long time.

The next pictures are of some things I thought were interesting and beautiful......

                           A shell from the beach.....

                                             A rusty ole pump.......

                                   Oriental lantern....

Coneflowers....gone to seed.....

A favorite of the American Goldfinch....they also love Sunflower seeds too.....

                                   Zinnas.....One of my favorite flowers...there are so many colors and the blooms last for a long time...even when they are dying ...they are pretty.......

Coleus flower.....these also come in so many colors and brighten the garden all summer.







Fading Petunias......I love the smell of the old varieties ....

I am on my second crop of Sunflowers.....(volunteer)....After the Plum tree was cut down I now have sun in the area that was all shade before....I miss the Plum tree and the shade but have really enjoyed the Sunflowers that sprouted this year......

The Goldfinch and Cardinals love the Sunflower seeds...the bees do too....

The Sunflowers are so beautiful that I decided to make a quilt wall hanging of Sunflowers.....and have been busy working on it.....

I even added a Goldfinch....

Another flower I love to take pictures of when the lighting is right....is the Hosta.

They are go simple and delicate looking....they have a sweet smell too......

The white Rose of Sharon is still in full bloom and I love the white flowers...

The Hummingbird enjoys the pink Rose of Sharon along the fence......

Have had two Squirrels that come by everyday for sunflowers and nuts.....

 There are spider webs all around the yard.....
                                This one is really different.....

                                 The spider in this one thought she was hiding from me......

I picked 15 gourds already and the vine is still growing and producing more......












Hoping this will ripen before the first frost.....

                                              I love how the sun reflects off this gazing ball.

And this one reminds me of the super moon!!!!! .....

I hope you have enjoyed my tour of the garden......I am hoping for a long fall ....with lots of color on the trees.....

Enjoy the outside while you can....I am still not over the winter we had last year and hope we don't have that this year....