All of these photos were taken on August 31st, 2015. It is not the date that is important but the fact that the photos were taken on the same day which is quite remarkable to me.I have received so much joy from my garden this summer.I have had two broods of painted lady caterpillars and have had black swallowtail butterflies lay eggs in my courtyard as well. I had a Giant Swallowtail butterfly which I never had in my Lakeville garden and  are pretty rare in Massachusetts. We have had many beautiful sunny days and I will often think I might like to go to the beach or take a day trip to Cape...

        It has been a beautiful fall with many glorious days in the courtyard. When I have no motivation or energy to tackle even the simplest of chores, I retreat to the garden. It is my haven. I am drawn to it by the dreamy sound of the bubbling waterfall and the allure of new buds and flowers each day. I feel Dick's spirit there and it fills my heart. I love the sunlight streaming into the courtyard, providing me with a special hot spot where I can watch a parade of visitors from my chair. October was a mild month and I enjoyed a variety of visitors that I didn't expect. The monarch...

On these crisp, sunny, fall days we have had a dozen or more monarch butterflies hangin' out in our backyard .They prefer to cluster on the purple buddleia bushes, which this late in the season are more like  trees. We have really been enjoying the dance of the monarchs as they flutter overhead before they head off on their miraculous journey! Through the years we have participated in tagging the monarchs in the fall season through the Monarch Watch program sponsored by the University of Kansas. Researchers use these tags  to track the butterflies migration to Mexico. We've also raised monarch...