“I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.”
Isaiah 45:12 ESV
As most of you know, the latter part of last week brought catastrophic devastation and loss of life in the southeast US. We are fine at our place in NE Alabama, but this is not the case with our neighboring and nearby states. Please pray for the people and places that Hurricane Helene has impacted. This is an ongoing situation and will be for years to come, as some places will never be the same.
With a storm predicted to pass east of us, but still 48 or more hours away, I took a chance that there would be some sun and a few clouds at sunrise. The clouds won out however, but we ended up with a much needed 3/4 inches of rain later in the day. That rain was actually not associated with Helene. I tried to locate an elephant in the sky attempting to chase off other creatures, but I’m not going there!
We cannot believe that an entire growing season has passed and this crepe myrtle got away with living under this large hydrangea unnoticed all this time. The invader might have gotten away with living here, but pride goes before a fall…it just had to show off with a bloom! I was amazed that the plant went from seed, in a shady spot, and bloomed in one growing season.
I sometimes hike through brushy places in low light or even in the dark. For many reasons it is good to know the territory and be familiar with the surroundings, this being one example!
PJ made this photo that I love because it speaks the language of everyday country living. The original home place on the property was built in 1860 and stood within a few feet of where Pam was standing when she took this photo. This of course is now part of our family’s front yard. Mr. Hood, who built the original house, was a pastor and once pastored a church that stood…
…at the edge of this cemetery. In fact, Reverend Hood is buried in this cemetery, but this is not his grave. If you saw last week’s post you know that I mentioned we had picked out cemetery lots in a country cemetery where corn fields and graves are neighbors. When I was placing our foot markers, I couldn’t help but notice this plot with all the red spider lilies. More common names for this flower really fit the time and place. They are often called Resurrection lily, Equinox flower, or Hurricane lily! And it is equally interesting that a group of these lilies are also currently blooming below Seth’s house, near the spot of Reverend Hood’s original 1860’s cabin.
I made a trek over to the woods edge to the east while the skies were still blue to discover this walnut tree that was absolutely loaded with nuts. All hickories around here lose their leaves early and the foliage is usually ragged and not too great for fall color, but they sure make up for that with the variety of nuts they produce. Hickory nuts are plentiful this year too, so I hope that means a good year for pecans. We do love pecans!
There were so many walnuts that the weight had them hanging low enough for me to put a few in my pocket. I haven’t figured a way to use them in Pam’s fall decor just yet, but they are part of the harvest!
We had a cloudy and rainy late week but that wasn’t the case this day. Forecasters stated that this might be our last 90-ish day of the year, but they did stress “might be”.
The garden and the gardeners were glad to see the mid week showers, unrelated to the hurricane. It has been so dry that we decided to celebrate the gift of raindrops! As I type this however, we are under a tropical storm warning and a flood watch, so later captions may bring additional thoughts!!!
Daylilies turning into water slides.
This mandevilla may be shedding tears as its last drops are about to fall away!
I’ve watered this large pot of blue haze (dwarf morning glory) almost every day for close to 5 months, but it finally holds drops of the real thing. There’s something about rain that is so much better than any watering I can do. This plant has been a good one, blooming all season!
Even the pumpkins whose days are done had happy tears!
Fall boneset, seen here beside a cotton field, is an important late season bloomer for many pollinators. It is an interesting native plant that originated in the eastern US and was used by native Americans and early settlers for medicinal purposes. It is thought by scientists that this weed/flower has been a part of the ecosystem special to North America for several millennia. My thoughts then…placed here after the flood!
My preying/praying mantis has taken time off and appointed another well adapted guard to oversee the cottage garden. I chose a picture that I hope is a little easier for spotting the visitor than some in the past. I think he was finding plenty of moisture in the cupped shaped leaves after the morning rain. He showed no interest in selling insurance!
Another wonderful sign of the harvest will soon extend an open invitation to the local ‘possums, raccoons, and others. Right now a bite into one of these persimmons would not be a pleasant thing as far as I’m concerned!
But again, the persimmon trees around here (there are quite a few) are loaded, and will yield a bountiful harvest. Some of the fruit higher on the trees seems to be ripening. A tree at the edge of our yard has a lot of orange fruit.
We close with a peaceful and pleasant autumn look at the Sunshine Cottage garden. We were west of Helene’s storm track which brought us minimal impact. This photo was made prior to the late week storm. The flooding, wind damage, devastation, and loss of life we are witnessing from this hurricane is incredible and heartbreaking. Many people in our neighboring states need our help and certainly our prayers.
Blessings to you all!
”Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.
Hebrews 13:8
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Imparting Grace,Life and Linda
Rita C at Panoply says
Helene was so far reaching. we were east of its path, but just far enough nirth & east that it only hit winds as high as 70mph with some downed trees & power outages, about 50 miles west of us. The rain we received was good, but our grounds are still cracked from drought. Having said that, the daylilies I cut to the ground 5 days before already grew 3″ from the rain. The power of natural water is truly incredile. I pray especially for western NC, that generous hearts will pour out to help everyone rebuild their communities.
Butch, if you hadn’t mentioned insurance, I think I’d still be searching that sedum!
Blessings for a new week coming…and Pam’s birthday month!
Alice Genzlinger says
Helene took a most unusual path. Having lived though many hurricanes in my life while growing up in NC I absolutely feel for those dealing with the effect of Helene. The rain blessed many. Hurricane Hazel pulled the nailed out of our new house in 1954. Afterwards went around the house pounding then back in. We learned a lesson and afterwards left a crack in the windows so that the barometric pressure didn’t explode out home. Butch you have an abundance of natures fruits this Fall. Did you ever make persimmon pudding? It’s a favorite. And mama made a black walnut cake. Guess who had to crack and pick the meal so that she could make that cake in that wood stove. I love the spider lilies places around the grave of a loved one. So much to comment on in this post but I should not write a book,
Clara says
East TN and west NC really got slammed. The loss of a portion of both I-40 and I-26 will really hurt the truckers and others. We had several inches of rain with downed power lines and trees. Comparatively, very little damage. I see the little elephant and the lizard. All the fall shots are beautiful. The front yard shot is gorgeous. You have a beautiful place. Are you transplanting the crepe myrtle? Enjoy your day. Clara❤️