Aging Gracefully-Musings on a Life Well Lived: Labor Day in the Garden

A female goldfinch sampling the sunflowers.

Although there are 3 weeks left in summer, the sights and smells of fall are in the air. No place is more evident of this than in the garden where Labor Day is being celebrated today with a flurry of activity by humans, insects and birds.

Sweet Autumn clematis draping the fence.

Omaha has been deluged with over 12 inches of rain the last couple of weeks resulting in the garden looking overgrown, disheveled and in need of a hard trim. Several hours of pruning, cutting, whacking and pulling has it looking a bit more civilized and ready for fall. Besides, it's nearly time for the fall show-offs to take the stage-the mums, asters, snowbank boltonia and sweet autumn clematis are all worthy of a less crowded, more presentable platform to show their blooms.

The plumes of a red canna.

A dragonfly parked on a daylily stick.

Monarch butterfly on a Zowie zinnia.

The vegetable season is winding down so out went the withering cucumber and squash vines. A few more tomatoes and pole beans will be forthcoming and a fall crop of mixed greens and radishes was planted. In a couple of weeks, I will plant the spring bulbs-a statement of optimism to dream about on those cold, blustery winter nights when you think that spring will never arrive.

The praying mantis trying to blend in.

A dahlia about to bloom.

But winter can wait for it is now nearly autumn, the second best season of the year. Warm days, cool nights, chili in the crockpot, college football, long sleeved shirts and the sweet smell of harvest in the air. We ate breakfast out on the deck this morning-a perk we won't be afforded in several more weeks, but for now we relish the opportunity to be outside.

Summer Joy Sedum and a yellow jacket.

Today, on this Labor Day, nature is clearly at work. The butterflies are frantically feeding on zinnias, a praying mantis was munching on a helenium plant and a grasshopper was sitting on a dahlia. A dragon-fly came for a visit amongst the bees and the chirpy goldfinch sampled the sunflower seeds. A few mums are blooming, the sweet Autumn clematis is cuing up for her spectacular fall show while the canna and zinnias make their last stand hoping for a late frost.

Butterfly bush

I wouldn't want to to live anywhere but in the land of 4 seasons where change is a constant and each season has it's blessings and challenges. As I age and enter into the next stage of life, I am aware that I have fewer rather than more of these seasons ahead of me. Rather than being morose about that fact, I am grateful to experience all that each season has to offer, never knowing for sure when it will be the last.