Good thoughts bear good fruit...

 It was a heartbreaking week in America.  Bombs sent to two former Presidents, to CNN and many innocent people.  So many put in jeopardy.  Because of hate.  Then the shooting at the synagogue in Mr. Roger's neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Gentle good people, praying, killed by hate.  Earlier in the week I sat and watched the service at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. as Matthew Shepard was laid to rest decades after his murder.  Hate killed Matthew. 

 It's hard to see, harder still to understand.

 I do believe that goodness will prevail.

Goodness will triumph over evil.

It must!

 I quote Desmond Tutu who said

"We are made for goodness. we are made for love.

We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness.

 We are made for all the beautiful things

that you and I know.

 We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.

All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow, rich, poor,

educated, not educated, male, female, gay, straight, all, all, all.

We belong to this family, this human family, God's family."

The gap in the fence where the dog got in.

As I watched the service for Matthew, the priest asked the congregation to close their eyes and remember Matthew.  I did close my eyes, but thought of a dear friend of mine who died in the AIDS epidemic.  As I opened my eyes, there was a large black dog on my deck.  I said, Steve?  

We have a fenced yard and I could not figure out how that dog got in our yard.  He was having a great time, drinking from our fountain, rolling around in the grass.  Hubby on the phone would have invited him in.  Me alone and not confident around animals, called animal control.  He was gone before I could get a photo, disappeared behind the shed.  Was it my friend, letting me know he is at peace?  I'd like to think so.

"Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit-

and man is his own gardener." 

-James Allen

Looking for how the dog got into the yard I explored the garden.

We have not had a fall clean up as of yet.

There is still beauty, even in the seed heads and certainly in the changing leaves.

The dark brown hydrangeas,

  

they are lovely even now.

The only thing still growing is the parsley left in my herb pot.

My sweet and generous friend Lynne from Irish Garden House 

remembered me with this cute twine pumpkin.  The gourds are from sweet Elizabeth.

How lucky am I to be blessed with wonderful friends, the best family and the sweetest husband.

I am so grateful, each and every day.

Pray with me for peace.

For peace all over the world.

For love in our hearts and on our lips.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny

Summer Inside Frosty Outside

 My dear Elizabeth brings me summer.  

Flowers so plentiful and beautiful,

I feel like I'm in a magazine shoot. 

 Then I get to play with the flowers. 

Making arrangements.  Taking photos.

 I put these carnations in a vintage glass.

 Spray roses, a perfect pinkish hue...dare I say, a rosy glow? 

(any Seinfeld fans?)

 Papery white ranunculus, so delicate and lovely.

 Thanks Elizabeth.  She remembers me so often.  

Love you Betty.

 A little Halloween decorating.  

Grandma doesn't do scary.  

I love the Great Pumpkin, and so does our baby grand.

 My bicycle basket got a little makeover.

 The Great Pumpkin flag is flying high!

 I guess it's a little spooky at night.

 The garland is old, made from some bags from a sweet friend Barb.  The fabric was torn into strips and looped on a string of LED lights.  I keep it up till after Thanksgiving.  It makes for a welcoming warm glow when we need it most.  It's hard when the sun goes down so early in the evening.  

I miss the longer days.

 That glowing ball is a moon.

The basket from...you guessed it, Elizabeth.

 It was left over from Mike and Amanda's wedding. 

 I found them in Madison Wisconsin last fall when

I visited the Botanic Garden there. 

 My lady spider.  I saw Martha do this years ago,

 but never saw a beautiful spider to do it with.

This spider is lovely, in a this spider can't hurt me kinda way.  

My one venture into kinda creepy Halloween.

 We've had a couple of frosts. 

 Even the for marigolds it was too much.

 Goodbye to the hydrangeas.

 The trees still have their leaves and have not changed color...yet.

 Remembering a summer of fun and celebrating on our deck,

and in your garden.

 Frost on the grass this morning.

"If the world seems cold to you,

Kindle fires to warm it."

-Lucy Larcom

Thanks for stopping by and for your friendship.

Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny

Two Years Ago

Wishing our dearest Charlotte and Jonathan a happy second anniversary. 

Remembering the beautiful wedding.

 The sweet coming together of two families.

A magical night and a beautiful marriage.

For a young couple they have been through so much in the last two years. Now we are celebrating that we'll be grandparents again.  Charlotte and Jon are expecting, TWINS!

Our family is growing, and so is the love we have for each other.

 Just as I've said before, the Honey Locusts drop their leaves within a few days.

 A few rainy days makes the leaves fall even faster.

 Our trees will be bare long before the other trees drop their leaves.

 One of my favorite Autumn occurrences. 

 The sky is bluer in Autumn.

Here are the trees just a few days later.

 The contrast of the bare limbs, the puffy clouds and blue sky is amazing.

 The beauty of a perfect Autumn leaf.

 The sunsets!

 The red sky always draws me outside. "Did you see that sky?"  My dearest just smiles.

 I'm sure I have a hundred sunsets photographed, and even more sunrises.  Can't help myself.

Everyone of them is different, fleeting, and touches my soul.

 Elizabeth brought me some gourds.  Here with the sunflower heads I'm drying.

 We had our first frost last week.  I brought in a few plants to over winter indoors.

  

 Glad I did because all the plants I left outside froze.

 Some Autumn touches here and there.

 Drying some herbs.

 The view from my sink.  It might be the most important view in the house.  The one I most take the time to admire.  No matter how many times a day I go to the sink, I look out.  I see the change of the seasons, the weather, the birds, squirrels and bunnies. 

 I am now imagining three grandchildren running through the sprinkler. Raking leaves, (just to throw) in the Fall. Snowballs at the windows and drinking hot chocolate on the deck in the cold. Picking all the tulips in the spring and pouring their bubble liquid in the fountain... Pretty amazing. 

We are blessed beyond measure.

 "Those that don't believe in magic will never find it." -Roald Dahl

Thanks for stopping by and for your kindness.

Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny