Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

I’ve been pulling everything out of my flower beds for the past five days and battening the proverbial hatches for winter. Today I cut the last flowering roses from my bushes and put them in a vase in my office.  They are lovely. Tomorrow I’ll trim the rest and prepare them for their rose cone hothouse existence for the coming months.

My mums have outdone themselves too. And, actually, every flowering plant has done the same thing.  I even have berries blooming on my strawberry plants . . . and this is pushing the last part of October.

But there is a downside:  Fall colors will not be resplendent this year. Oh, maybe a Maple here and there, but for the most part many of the trees have already lost their leaves without first turning color.

I guess you can’t have everything — and I certainly have no control over Mother Nature – so I’ll take what she offers.