It is late August, the days are filled with the steady murmur of cicadas and the nights resound with the addition of a wood frog chorus that surrounds on all sides.  This is my favorite time of year.  The garden is lush and filled with late summer blooms of gold and purple and demands little from the gardener. Butterflies and hummingbirds flit around like living jewels, feeding on pollen that will speed their journey south in a few weeks.  Storm clouds come and go, creating shifting patterns of light and shadow. The county park nearby celebrates the season with stands of goldenrod and Joe Pye weed.

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One year ago today, I began the Composer in the Garden blog and I want to thank everyone who has visited, liked, commented and followed.  I have learned so much and have made so many friends.  This community has offered me a place to explore ideas and commit to creating and presenting my music and images on a regular basis. This week, I am in the middle of composing a new piece, “August in Penns Woods” which will use a recording of the sound of my garden as both inspiration and as part of the piece itself. The year has come full circle.  Here is my first ever post, The Sound of the August Garden, that contains the sound file that will serve as the basis for this new piece.

Thank you, my friends, and I look forward to another year.