Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - August, 21-31

Hi there everyone 😀

Well I can't quite believe it's September. The first day of both a new month and a new season ... and I have to say that, even if I didn't know that from the date, there are plenty of signs that would give it away ... a definite 'nip in the air' over the weekend, in spite of the sunshine, the beginnings of shades of red and gold appearing in the garden and the days just getting that little bit shorter.

Whilst we are making good progress in the garden with our 'jobs to do before winter' there is still plenty to do. I'm hoping for a good couple of weeks weatherwise so we can hopefully be pretty much sorted before we go away later this month ... as our autumn holiday always kind of signals pretty much the end of our gardening year as, apart from the odd foray for a bit of last minute tidying, we tend to start hunkering down for the winter.

But that's all to come ... for now here is the last of our summer ...

Day 21 - Today did not go particularly to plan. I had a last minute call from the roofers to confirm they were coming to fit a new flat roof, an aborted visit to the dentist and an unexpected afternoon visit from my eldest nephew. The new plants seem to be doing well in their new homes though and are giving a really lovely bit of late summer colour on the patio.

Day 22 - A few years ago I remember the garden just being green at this time of year but this year it still has plenty of colour to give. This hibiscus has gone from strength to strength since we had the garden work done a few years ago  and it is absolutely covered in beautiful pink blooms.

Day 23 - It was Friday and we had a Bank Holiday weekend ahead, with the weather forecast looking fabulous. I was surprised to see that this lilac rose has put on its second fabulous display. It's certainly been a good year for the roses.

Day 24 - Saturday was a scorcher. We had a slow but productive day in the garden and this was the view from my lunch spot.

Day 25 - On Sunday we had one of the loveliest days ever ... a local scarecrow festival in the sunshine with mum, dad, David, Alison and the little man.

Day 26 - Bank Holiday Monday and the sun was still shining. We paid a very swift visit to a local boating festival and the colours were just fabulous. Our visit was followed with an afternoon family BBQ to finish off the weekend.

Day 27 - The sun was still shining and we had a gentle potter in the garden. These asters I grew from seed have done really well and are just full of pretty frilly flowers in all shades of pink and purple ... I will definitely be planting these again for next year.

Day 28 - Starting to get ready for the spring. These honesty that we planted a few weeks ago are doing really well.

Day 29 - Not the best photo I know, but Martin and I spent ages stood at the landing window watching a stack of starlings fighting over mealworms and taking a morning dip.

Day 30 - I can tell that autumn is literally a day or two away. The acer is always the first to let me know.

Day 31 - Our last day of summer, like many others, was spent in the garden. You wouldn't know it from this photo, but we got drenched through to the skin moving some plants around and putting in the new obelisk, which I just love.

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So that's it for summer for us ... bring on autumn ... hot soup, slow cooker dinners, plenty of candles, a couple of holidays, loads of birthdays, the best of reality TV and putting the garden to bed for winter.

Just out of interest I thought I'd go back and see how many of my daily moments of joy for August came from our own garden ... there were 17! I certainly know where I need to go if ever I need a bit of a lift 😀

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