Fall in Love with Fall

Seasons change. Spring and summer bursts with buds and blossoms of every shape and color on the wheel. Then fall arrives and the green feathery plumes of ferns transform into withered brown crunchy threads or disappear all together under the mulch. Many perennials die down, but like this lonely Shasta daisy some bloom longer than expected. Like many in America this daisy represents a spirit of grit, resilience and determination to hang on no matter what.

My porcelain vine is most beautiful when those amazing berries show up in the fall. The vine has seen greener days but those blues, lilacs, and pinky purples shimmer. The last few years my berries never showed. An army of crazy beetles chomped my vine leaves like starving athletes after a marathon. Destroy the vine and say goodbye to fruit production. This year is so different for my husband was pro-active. He chose to tend the vine with intentional preventative care and the fruits of his labor made me so happy.

Have you noticed the beauty leaves are sporting this fall?
This is my Autumn Blaze Maple tree. Its leaves turn translucent orange and golden red when the sun shines. On windy days the leaves gently fall and create a lovely round pile, giving my husband purpose in life. He really loves
to jump on his John Deere mulching mower!

I can't help but fall in love with fall. Especially this year. We only need to look around at the beauty that surrounds us to gain peace and thanksgiving for the world God gave us to enjoy. Sometimes our lives seem to be overwhelmed with stress of the day. Turn off your phone. Jump off social media if just for an hour and take a walk. Check out your gardens and be surprised by who is still blooming with November around the corner. Take a look at these begonias.

I realize there are a lot of things I could have said with the election and all the stress in the world. But I felt like we needed a moment to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.

If you believe in prayer please do take time to pray for our nation. Abe Lincoln used the truth of the Bible when he was running for office. "A house divided against itself will never stand." Let's pray God will heal our land. Reba has a great song, Back to God.

https://youtu.be/S9q-08aTNh8?si=qY2fOxd9D1BVwsBJ
Say prayers for those in our lives who are resilient and thankful to be alive after a terrible natural disaster. Be thankful for the mule train, Samaritan's Purse, and the marvelous volunteers who made roads in one week not a year. Roads fell and they are restored. The spirit of Americans full of grit, resilience and generosity shows just how quickly change can be completed when people work together.
Take a walk and look up to the sky. Enjoy the leaves and the flowers with grit, or just enjoy mine!
Love you all. Dr. Donna