Garden Muse Day: Welcome, Sweet November

This Garden Muse Day I find myself with mixed emotions. Autumn seems to have passed by so quickly, and no single poem suits my mood. Instead, I've collected several quotes here that I hope will make some sense of it all.

"Nothing gold can stay . . ."

Part of the reason I'm feeling so uninspired is that October was a lousy month. According to state climatologists, this month was the second wettest October on record in our area, with almost nine inches of rain compared to an average of 2.81 inches of rain. In the first 28 days of the month, it rained on 19 of those days.

To add to the general depressing atmosphere, I've been laid up on the couch for the last few days with an apparent case of H1N1 flu, contracted no doubt from several days spent at school where normally healthy teenagers coughed over papers and desks, determined to "tough it out." The first two days I didn't even have the energy to read blogs, but rather spent the days watching a little daytime TV in between naps. (Anyone wanting to know about a specific past episode of NCIS should contact me--I'm sure I've seen each one at least three times now.) So you can see why I've been such a grouch.

"You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by;but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by." ~James Matthew Barrie

But I don't want this to turn into one of my "whine" posts; I think I do that often enough already. Besides, in all seriousness, when one reads the news about the number of flu victims hospitalized across the country, not to mention fatalities, a few days spent napping on the couch hardly merits self-pity.

"It is no use to grumble and complain;

It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice;

When God sorts out the weather and sends rain

-Why, rain's my choice."

~James Whitcomb Riley

Life is too short to cry about a day or two of rain or feeling under the weather. I realize that each time I read posts of blogging friends who are bravely undergoing rounds of chemotherapy or dealing with loss or other hardships. This realization really hit home this week when I learned of the fate of one of our high school alumni. This young man, the youngest of five exceptional brothers and sisters, all former students of mine, was killed in Iraq this past week. A college graduate with advanced degrees, he had served our country in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and received two Bronze Stars as well as many other awards.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest
appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John F.
Kennedy

I am reminded that each day is a gift no matter the weather or circumstances. It is a time to enjoy the last few days of brilliant autumn color.

To appreciate the beauty of fading blossoms . . .

And changing foliage . . .

Even the many trees now with bare branches can be appreciated

for the better opportunities for bird-watching.

"Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul

and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all. " ~Emily Dickinson

Changes in temperature bring new wonders . . .

And a new definition of beauty.

“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”
--John Burroughs

It is a new day, a new month, and a chance to experience new things. The sun is shining, and my energy is returning. Welcome, sweet November!

"Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color

and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance.

What man can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon?"

Hal Borland

Special thoughts of healing and hope go out today, too, for good blogging friend and faithful reader, Maggie May. May your news on Monday be good news.




For other thoughts for today, please visit the hostess of Garden Muse Day, Carolyn Gail of Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.