love affair

Our average first frost date is in about a week.


No doubt I'll be feeling sentimental then, too, and will do the same things I did this morning-- wander around...


touching


whispering


offering thanks


letting my admiration and deep gratitude be felt by everything that cares to soak it up.


I considered writing this post for Happy and Free, but that didn't seem right,
as this is not just about me.

It's about my husband's love affair with his tomatoes and peppers and onions.


It's about my thankfulness for the honeybees on the catnip or peppermint - promising me not only healthy gardens, but reminding me that not all of the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

It's about the children being drawn daily into a world that is made up entirely of Raspberries.


And being joyful about pumpkins


and harvesting tomatoes and sweet peppers for a little smackerel of something.


It's about creating art on the patio


painting en plein air


and outdoor tea parties.

It's about picking a flower to help Mama find her smile.


And it's about gathering roses on Sunday morning.

I hope we have a while, yet.


I'm not quite ready to say goodbye.

But just in case,


I offer these things

and Mama Nature


my prettiest curtsy.