[Snapshots from Oak Ridge] Summer and Fall in Tandem

I walked outside after my book group meeting last night around 10:30, and the air not only felt like fall, it smelled like fall—the mild tang of leaf mold, a hint of smoke. We still have summer-like days ahead of us, no doubt, but fall is creeping in—including in my garden. Here, a bee gets busy with a fall-blooming purple sedum. Another few weeks and it will be time to cut down the perennials, re-seed the lawn, and (horrors) take the cushions off my beloved sunny bench, which only gets about two hours of midday sun these days. I’ll be ready for the change when it comes, but I’m glad it hasn’t come yet.