It's late in the afternoon and the maple trees are casting shadows over the backyard. The light still falls on the fence and the milkweed/zinnia bed. That's the fence where the robins were born this spring. And last week, I probably saw the last Monarch butterfly.
Somehow knowing a huge storm was on the way, the Monarchs have left. It was reported they touched down in huge numbers on the south side of Lake Erie before continuing their migration. There she is.
The tall zinnias will bloom bravely until killed by frost. They are intermixed with the milkweeds that are starting to fall and look raggedy, and the beans didn't help. I made a mistake when I bought my green bean seeds, going by the picture and seeing no indication that they were pole beans. I didn't realize that until they started twining up the milkweeds from the front of the bed. Still, I harvested quite a few beans so I'm happy and I will plant them near the fence next year. A lovely thing about gardening is the yearly chance for a redo.
It's warm today and feels like summer so I'm enjoying every bit of it. At this time of year we're on borrowed time with the average first frost date less than two weeks away. That means I have to bring some plants inside. Meanwhile, my beans have produced enough for dinner tonight.
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