today, my other passion...

hubs carved this pumpkin last year. the picture doesn't do it justice.

le poodle après sa coupe aujourd'hui

my mother took these at the bronx botanical garden. aren't they cute?!?! this one was cuter with mom in the picture, but i photoshopped her out...

deciduous holly winterberry is fruiting well, but will look its best when the leaves drop. i decided to photograph it now, as the birds really like the berries and they may not last until leaf drop. pineapple sage is finally blooming. its a tender perennial here, but i always harbor hopes of a mild winter and some survival.

the dward oakleaf hydrangea in fall colors fall alliums

surely this butterfly must have been cold; is was about 50 degrees when i took this picture. mums

today i threw the ball for the dogs... the whippet is very hard to catch with my digital camera... she's just so fast... see the streak of deer spore on her neck?
the poodle can't catch her, but he does try!

hubs found this beautiful bird's nest while we cut our hedges from 8 to 4 feet tall. The nest is made of twigs and bolstered on the outside with bark from our betula nigra, or river birch.

the front steps decked out for the season... water lily colchicum blooming now...

this tattered tiger swallowtail is a remnant of summer...the purple cloud called lespedeza...
river birch bark at sunset...
autumn crocus.

want a treat?

the pink brugmansia is so pretty today...

the poodle enjoying the last warm days of the year.

today is probably the last hot day of this year, with temps in the high 80s. the brugmansia are still flowering, and i took this upward shot to give a new perspective.

here is my sister's prince of orange clivia. please note my considerable jealousy that, 5 years after our brother gave us each clivias, my sister's blooms like this and mine blooms not at all. all i can say is "wow!" (now wasn't that mature of me?)

sedum autumn joy is blooming now, after surviving major deer nibbling and liberal salting from proximity to the road. it is so common around here, because its indestructible. my neighbor's sweet autumn clematis, which covers about 12 feet of her hedge and almost looks like snow. the fragrance is wonderful. i just planted one in my garden, but it is not blooming yet.

a close up of beauty berry, which is a drought tolerant and care free shrub. here is a larger picture of the shrub, which i've had for 2 years.

garlic chives are taking over the herb garden. the caryopteris does not like all the rain we've been getting, but is finally blooming.

the deer have eaten half the buds, but the japanese anemone are still the most beautiful thing in the garden right now. morning haze softens the look of various greenery today.