Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot
I have always loved autumn, with its cooler temperatures and crisp golden days. There were many mornings this past week where walking in the garden felt magical, the low light sifting amber through the leaves. 
The flowers of PG Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ have turned a soft pink 
yet still play host to sleeping bumblebees. 
The oak trees have been putting on a brilliant display this year, hung like jewels against vivid blue skies. 
It was a beautiful bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it.” ~Diana Gabaldon
But there was also a few foggy days that brought out the more subtle colors of autumn.(click on any photo to see the full size version)
Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. ~George Eliot
The leaves have been falling for days. I set my coffee cup down for a moment in order to take a photo and it was covered in leaves within moments. 
The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground . . . ~George Eliot
The coleus and other annuals have became gigantic displays of warm color surrounding the house and deck
while a few roses bloom their last flowers of the season.
Pixie has been the real star of the garden this year, racing through the woods and tracking my every step through the garden, gracefully posing for the camera. 
She is featured in a little film I made of the autumn garden, working her way into the path of the camera with ease.
The leaves continue to drift down, in a few days the trees will be bare and the ground covered. Until then, I celebrate the garden as it completes its final dramatic act of the season.
The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world’s oldest performance art . . . ~Shauna Niequist
(All text, photos, and video @2022 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved, except where noted.)
The mild fall weather has delayed leaf fall and a few days have been warm enough to dine outside. Bill and I ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant in our local park; a mild sunny day filled the patio with diners in November. The stillness and beauty of the lake we viewed from our table stayed with us for days.
I want to send a special thanks to all of you who read and commented on my last post about our beautiful Angel – your words meant so much and helped in the healing process. One of our longtime friends sent us a sketch he created of one of Angel’s photos; we were surprised and thrilled and he promised to send an oil painting. Gus was the best man at our wedding and our drummer when Bill and I were performing many years ago in Pittsburgh as Sundance (Gus is looking over my shoulder). He retired and moved to Florida a few years ago with his wife Shirley, where he has returned to drawing and painting – his work is regularly shown at a local gallery. We were deeply touched when this beautiful painting of our girl arrived this week – Gus caught the essence of her beauty and expression and it was one more gift of friendship that is healing our hearts. 
Photo courtesy of Mary Pegher; you can see more of her work on Facebook at 
oved here, terraces led down the hill supported by thick wooden ties. I was happy to have level spaces to plant but over the years, the wood rotted away, leaving only rusty metal spikes and crumbling wood on the hillside, as you can see in this
composerinthegarden 