Saying Goodbye to Summer. Again.

I was going to say that summer is winding down but I guess I need to face it; summer is over.



Asters and calendula counterpoint.






A successful dahlia from a tuber I overwintered.












Clematis seed heads.






Garlic harvest.






Ginger in pot.












Joe Pye seedheads.






Reblooming larkspur.







Plume poppy seedheads.














Number One chicken.







Sunflowers in veggie garden. Probably our biggest "crop".













Datura - "Moonflower".






Finch on sunflower.








Monarda Bergamot.











Alice and friends.







Fireworks goldenrod.












Mums.







Porch pedestal.











Girls at their seedblock.




This summer, as most, went by way too quickly. (See this post for why.)

I tried a coordinated color scheme for the front containers this year.
Didn't especially like it. I think I'll go back to my hodge-podge norm next year. I also need to face the fact that our front container garden is now mostly shade and I need to stop planting things that need full sun. Gees. I like full sun flowers. Oh well.

Yesterday Kim discovered a nest behind a tomato plant in the fenced in veggie garden. The next was filled with 14 eggs. Chicken eggs. Now wasted chicken eggs. Ginger is the only chicken we have who is thin enough to fit through the veggie garden fencing. She must be the offending chicken.

Now we're like most people who raise chickens and realize they enjoy laying their eggs in places other than the proper nesting box. So we'll be checking this nest daily from now on. Bad chicken!

What have you learned over the summer?