11 pictures on the triple 9's

I went out this morning strictly to enjoy the view. The last couple of weeks have been a blur of weeding and gathering and harvesting and tincturing and candymaking and college and all that autumn jazz, so this morning was just for the beauty of it.
This moonflower awaits directly outside the door. I love the colors of the buds and leaves and the soft purple around the outer edges of the open blooms. At night, sphinx moths come and play with the flowers. I like to call this one "Blurry, the little hummingbird". I was looking at the Vitex behind the bush, and *poof* there is this little gem flitting about. She helped me out on the grill the other night, too, although I think it was because I was too close to the red hibiscus flowers. Yes, that's right, I'm naming pictures. So what, who cares? This one I like to call "Pretty in Pink". The seedpods are what are really amazing to me later. They will look as though they are crafted of leather. The petals of these remind me of baleen whales, with their great, expandable throats. You're going to love this name - Passion Awakening. Isn't it beautiful how ruffled and grumpy it is in the morning? Dewy and tangled up. Again, the colors are staggering to me.

The blue morning glory amidst the burgundy privet is so pretty. If I were an insect, I'd be making a beeline for the center of that flower, or....

perhaps for the landing pad that this hibiscus has stretched out and supplied for the weary flyer!

I've mentioned the slip of a fig tree that Susanna gave me during their 40th anniversary celebration at The Rosemary House last year. For the longest time this spring it seemed to have succumbed to the cold, but LOOK! There are figs all over it - at least a dozen. I am hoping some will ripen before a frost comes.

Out on the anise hyssop, the bumblies are playing. The scent of this plant is delicious, and I've saved quite a bit of it for tea this coming winter.

After weeks of drying berries, making tincture, making candy and syrup, the elderberries are still so heavy on the bushes that they are nearly touching the ground. A few branches broke. These bushes are about 12' tall, so this is really something.

It was probably a month or so ago when we talked about the many bees on this plant - the mountain mint. As you can see, they are still loving it. The plant is spreading like wildfire. Something needs to move - either it, or the elderberries, or the blueberries. None would be simple.

Look what the birds brought me! Beauty Berry right in the middle of the Yews out front. They highlight the remaining balloon flowers. Such a beguiling color!

That about does it for the photo portion of today. There are tinctures to be strained, elderberries to be dehydrated, and mints to harvest. The vitex berries are only a few days from harvest, and the beans we'll be using for seed next year probably require some attention. OH! And there's that article that came in the mail today that needs to be typed in.
See you soon!