Waiting...

 

The Souvenir de la Malmaison rose by my front door still blooms in late October.

The rose has looked more lush and beautiful than it ever has. Typically, at some point its leaves show signs of black spot, a fungal disease that affects the foliage. This causes my husband to keep pruning and trimming.

This year was very dry and warm. Not the kind of weather conducive to the development of black spot. So there was some benefit in the heat and drought. We, of course, watered the rose regularly with our dishwater, an easy task because the rose is near the front door, which is next to the kitchen.

While Josephine's souvenir from la Malmaison gardens blooms, we are in a season of transition. The summer rose blooms as the geese fly to their winter home. I pick tomatoes and okra, while the winter radishes swell underground. All is in flux. As always.  

And tonight I sent off the last gardening column in 30 years of writing it, first for one small town newspaper, and then two. It might not seem like much from the outside, but it consumed a lot of head space and time for me. It's been a good run, but it's time to end. 

And now it has. 

I will turn that energy to this blog, and other things. 

We'll see what happens now. 

In transition.