Ever wonder what things look like from behind? It has become somewhat of a tradition for me to publish an in-depth, investigative report on some interesting butts, and as it happens I have come across a few more lately. The year is almost up and oh my…….. does time fly because I realize that one has not been published yet. I better get cracking! 😉

A little finch checking out how to access the seeds in this interesting fly-through feeder.

A hummingbird – snacking….

Oscar our resident squirrel sipping from the local watering hole…. Now that is a cute butt!

A sweet little cardinal. He kindly provides us with a much better view of his butt a little later….

Dick, our resident human scoping out the pond. Hehehehehe

A unsuspecting dragon fly taking a rest on a waterlily bud.

And the cardinal on our roof, futzing around and making one heck of a racket. Not really sure what the heck he’s doing up there, but I got a shot of his derriere. 😀

And of course our dog Sadie – fast asleep in her usual seemingly uncomfortable position. Let sleeping dogs lie I say, and I have learned that lesson well.

Yes it is that time of year where Autumn Sage (aka Salvia Greggii) lives up to it’s name and is in full splendor. Its really a great plant if you want deer resistance, drought tolerance and year round color with a flashy fall finale. I planted several colors in my front garden 3 years ago. I only watered this garden every ten days or so during our worst heat, and now that the heat has tempered and become bearable, the garden looks pretty good – even if I say so myself. 🙂  Everything has filled in, and I can see that next year will be a cleanup, and intense plant moving year, but I will leave the garden to the butterflies for now.

This is the front garden. I love the contrast of the grey Artemesia with the deep reds of the autumn sage.

The Texas Lantana is also showing off – finally!! I am not blessed with much patience and I was pretty much urging…read: nagging…. this plant all summer to do SOMETHING!

The picture  below reminds me of a garden bouquet of flowers – and I didn’t even have to pick a single flower.

The Golden Thryallis is just looking spectacular! I will be moving 2 of these lovely specimens from several areas where they have been swallowed by other plants. This will mean extra special care and watering next year as their roots recover after the move. But it will be well worth it. They are showstoppers.

The pond garden is finally filling in – a little. At least there is more color now.  Its a new garden that I planted last fall and it is only now, with the much wetter and cooler weather, that the plants are tentatively sending out leaves and flowers to check things out.

The Fall Aster in the back of the pond garden however does not disappoint!

And the Pigeonberry takes my breath away:It’s almost ready to put on little red berries that the birds just love – hence it’s name. It’s a small plant here in my dry shade garden, but a lovely addition all the same.

Gromphena has had that ‘in-your-face’ color all year long and it looks like it ain’t gonna stop now either!

And this Blue Butterfly bush bloom reminds me of a very ornate insect, or even a blue praying mantis with 3 eyes 😀 :

Indigo spires is in it’s prime in the front garden. The field of grasses int he back is looking lush for early fall. The best it’s looked in the three years I have been here.

And the grasses around the house are sending out their flower heads.

There is something so right about grasses and dead wood logs. It just looks right.I love fall. We are forecast to receive more rain, and all I can say is “Yippee”!

We were blessed with another inch of rain on Saturday. Fields are green and my fall perennials are smiling. This also makes for moist soils, and combined with the cool temps in the early mornings,  everything gets covered in a magical layer of dew. It is my favorite time of day. Morning dew on fresh new leaves and blooms – there is nothing better for me. You can almost see the plants growing with eagerness. Personally this even beats the beauty of ice crystals sparkling in the sun that I used to see in New England – on hard foliage frozen in time. That can look lovely too, but after 20 years of dealing with that bone chilling cold, I am happy to see tiny water droplets encapsulating the world around me at a crisp 67 degrees. 😉  Here is some the enchantment that awaited me early Tuesday morning:

The whole field of grass covered in water. Sparkling in the sun.

The dew covered Artemesia almost looked like it’s encrusted in ice.

The Lantana looked lovely in it’s shroud of water.And this little wildflower looked like it was frozen in time.Woolly Butterfly Bush looked anything but wooly!

The blue blooms of Mystic Spires Salvia have gotten so much more intense with all the moisture.

And the Autumn Sage was just dripping. 🙂

Doesn’t the Four Nerve daisy look enchanting?

And I just can’t get over this Artemisia – it’s like an abstract work of art.

The blue from the Plumbago always has a lovely tendency to glow in the dusk or dawn light of day. Stunning!Nature brings us so many special, subtle gifts, if we take the time to look closely enough. Cooler temps are finally here and I am grateful.  Whew!