Dear Reader:

Can you hear it? Listen…do you hear it? The sounds of fall.

The sounds are very subtle…the soft swish of freshly fallen pine straw hitting the ground or the ruffle of wings of monarch butterflies stopping to rest and re-energize on their way to Mexico.

I can hear Summerville High School ‘s band practicing in the afternoon/evening while sitting on my deck or front porch. Football season is approaching.

Visually…the clues are becoming more obvious…particularly the “red clues”…the brilliant red leaves that are popping up among the green foliage …as if they are leaving calling cards to remind us the seasons are starting to change.

…And it is just not the red’s that are returning to claim their domain…but the shades of purple are giving us one last performance….

“Hi beautiful butterfly…I am so glad you stopped by my house to nourish yourself for this “leg” of your remarkable journey of life.

I feel quite honored that you chose my garden to have a “tea party” in.

Boo’s Blessings’ (my new name for home) make-over is coming along nicely (Depending on the weather today) the roofer is supposed to start tearing off old shingles and putting on new ones. I feel like the house is getting a new “hair-do”….out with the gray…on with the brown.

An update on the house repairs: three new column are now up…two on the front porch to replace the old rotten ones…and one in the back to better secure the roof from that angle. Most of the trim repair has been done…just a few sections left.

Work still needed: painting the doors, trim work and windows. Busting up the cement on the front porch, removing it, and pouring new cement in to stabilize the porch foundation.

Replacing rotten windows/panes with new vinyl windows.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday of the progress….

The old house stands poised in dignity awaiting all the changes about to happen…standing firmly on the porch with its two new columns to secure it…soon the make-over will be complete and a proud home will smile out at the street at all who pass by.

I went to take some Boo’s Garden (fall version) flowers from the garden to thank Anne for helping me with some decisions concerning the house renovation… and ended up staying for lunch.

 To my surprise I  brought home the old Boo’s Garden empty mason jar that Anne had in which she had placed a beautiful green hydrangea…a trade-off.

So until tomorrow….take a moment and listen to fall…it’s coming… pine needles softly landing….then look for the longer afternoon shadows, smell the Confederate jasmine…(mine just started blooming again) and taste the cranberries, nuts, and spices (like pumpkin) in soups and jams while touching the fabric of  leaves changing colors….. (Like Jakie’s tree)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 My thin-leaf  sunflower stalks are growing and blooming!

When I returned from Anne’s house I promptly fell asleep in my wonderful lounge chair while reading….for our section of town the rain fell…for the first time… so when I awoke it was to gray skies with peeks of sunshine…I went outside to check the plants and my backyard had turned into a virtual fairyland! Amazing what a little rain can do! Magical raindrops!

*The last two photos show my first moon flower bloom on the magic moon  gate…it finally happened!! Enchantment!

After I sent these photos of the flowers to Anne she checked her moon flowers and they, too, were going wild…six blooming. I think it was a transforming night last evening.

Anne also wanted to thank everyone for their prayers…so far her sister Nancy’s (“Nance”) tests/biopsies for the cancer spreading to the brain, bone, lungs, organs, etc. have all returned negative!!!

She is slated to begin chemo next week (followed by radiation and surgery). Please pray that the treatments will do their thing and Nancy can soon resume many of her earlier activities with new strength and determination.

Update on Rudy: Right now the prognosis is not good… just a few months, probably, with the tumor returning so quickly… Tommy and Kaitlyn are going to get a second opinion today to explore any other viable options. Please keep them both in your hearts and prayers…tough decisions will probably need to be made in the foreseeable future.

Pip seems to be fine….just some strange bug or virus they think…so that is good news. And Atticus continues to be happy with his two “brothers.”

*Mike sent this photo….we think Cocoa knows that fall is in the air too….and time to return to school. She has started reading the morning paper! Literacy is very important…after all!