We’ve got some juxtaposition going on today folks: grass that is bright green like you see in Spring , a sky that is a brilliant blue like you see in Summer and early morning sweater weather like you see or feel in Fall. But melded together they made for a picture-perfect Kodachrome day and a most-pleasant promenade. Usually by the end of July, the lawn is crisp and crunchy, never as full and lush as it is right now. Today’s sky was a flawless bright blue with fluffy cotton-ball clouds and a sun peeking out as well. I thought the scene was reminiscent of “Bliss” which was my favorite desktop wallpaper in Windows XP. Don’t you agree? The grass and sky colors usually go hand-in-hand but these cooler temps are an anomaly, a software glitch if you will, but I wish they would linger until the “real Fall” sets in. I confess I ran the furnace just one time yesterday and today for the wee one. You’d think all that rain would have made everyone’s hanging baskets soggy and terrible-looking, but the baskets, pots and planters have indeed “recovered” and are flourishing with bountiful blossoms and vibrant colors. It seems to me, so many of the larger perennials are absolutely monstrous this year. I’ve mentioned the Empress Hostas in an earlier post – I’ve never seen them so large. It must’ve been the back-to-back heat waves, humidity and then cool weather. I’ve seen some massive Moon Flowers with open blossoms as big as your face and huge crimson Ornamental Poppies with black velvety centers and masks across their silky crimson “faces”. Even the sometimes raggedy wildflowers are so tall they have already reached their potential height and are starting to bend back toward the ground. There is so much beauty all around to savor; sometimes I feel like I should bring along a camera every day and preserve those images to gaze upon them wistfully during the dreary, seemingly never-ending days of Winter.

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. ~~~Aristotle