The day started with a slight coolness in the air, but, unfolded into a remnant summer day. It was steeped in copious blushes of saturation, the sun and shine lighting up my fading complexion. Sometimes, life can be almost too good!

These fern-like leaves are a vibrant green color, always a surprise in the spring, lasting until the fall, looking decidedly soft, but, the truth is, it is a poser. They don't feel soft, but, my love for them is in their unusual look, they show off their unique character with their brilliant color. When I first met them, I thought they were pines, but, losing their leaves seals that idea. Looks can be so deceiving, can't they?

It is so misleading, these moments when Autumn first shows up, in summer clothing, not quite ready to let it go. Are we ever ready to let the good times go? I had a dream last night, letting those poignant thoughts slip through. It must be the Autumn, that time for reflection and change. I had to order some flowers today for a long-distance birthday. I don't usually order flowers, there is just no control over what they will have for stock on hand. But, she loves flowers, so I took a chance. Some days, you have to throw caution to the wind and just do it. In the end, the flowers were brilliantly colored, just like Fall. It is too late to send Summer, it seems so much like a clearance item. I never used to put that much thought into what I got. I felt like I just got caught wearing white after Labor Day. It used to be a thing, especially if you lived in New England. My grandmother wouldn't be caught dead wearing summer after a certain date. I don't care how much she would perspire, because we all know proper ladies don't sweat. My daughter informed me the other day she will never be a proper lady. She sweats.

I raise my glass to her, the luck of the Irish be with her. Take a shamrock. They grow haphazardly in my garden, mostly without permission. I think one of my kids planted them. I am sure I didn't invite them. But, then again, they are pretty little flowers. For me, that in itself begs forgiveness. We know that there will be an interruption of service somewhere in the post for the allowance of flowers. #alwaysaflower

As promised, I give you one Christmas picture, to spread the joy of that season, hoping to give Autumn permission to join in. Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men. How can that ever be a bad thing? Just to keep up to date: The Christmas Countdown: 83 Days 00 hours and 17 minutes and 03 seconds.

I just want to lay and rest;
lay and rest, lay and rest
Can one conceive, my ability to be;
anything more than a moment in time;
which is gone, gone, gone

Fly away and spread your seeds,
examine the beauty, of things to be
Another day, another month, another season in time

Barely, but still #Caturday! Good night to all, goodnight. ❤️

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Shakespeare