October Garden Peeping ahead of the Storm

Hi friends! October is rushing by, as all things so anticipated tend to do. Saturday was cool and crisp here, finally! And the sky over the beach was filled with dense flocks of tiny birds, plus skeins of geese and ducks. I so love seeing the seasons slowly begin to change.

A storm is headed our way however. We so often have storms near Halloween---The Perfect Storm of movie fame, Hurricane Sandy, and many others. edit: storm was a big fat Yawn, just a little rain overnight......

So let's enjoy the flowers and gardens, the dunes and pathways while we can. First , an iconic peek through the weathered grey fences, a last periwinkle in pretty bloom.

Roses, asters, and goldenrod abound. 

Garden rugosas.

I especially love asters, they fill the roadsides in Cape Cod in the fall. Usually pale blue or lavender; here they are white.

Last week Mo and I walked around and admired front steps and porches, bedecked for Halloween and Fall.

I'm quite envious of this pale robin's egg blue pumpkin!

This house had a lot of rather creepy black gauze on windows, doors, and railings. Hmmm.....

I love these strange lava? rocks set out in public areas, not sure what their function is. Over the years they have become miniature fairy landscapes, crevices filled with lush emerald alpine moss and this year, with minute shamrocks, hardly bigger than a glass pin head. [you may recall another had a housekey set out in it all summer, a mystery key.]

At the beach, dunes and grasses attract those flocks of migrating birds. Lots of food, shelter, and few predators so close to the ocean.

.........................................

More outings: Trader Joe's was cheap and festive.

I mentioned shopping there to Kel, as she is a TJ's fan also; I told her we got such great cheese. In response she sent me this ominous mystical page of spells:

And we stopped in Old Navy for fast refunds of mail order items. The store was neater than usual, do they read my blog and know what a mess I usually see when I go? [of course not!].

Not a single Fall-y item to be seen, all is pale and neutral, plus some yucky intestinal pink. I give them credit for having clothes light weight enough to actually wear in October and November, warm here, but still.

Last a photo is from a friend's garden. This lovely white flowered plant, a volunteer, has filled one of his deck pots all summer. It looks like a small hibiscus or hollyhock. He says it is a weed! I think it's a mallow, no idea where it came from though. The marsh? a marsh mallow? hahaha.

Mo is battened down in his new deep snuggle bed, keeping watch as the wind picks up. The back door flew open a while ago, not latched tightly---scared us both. 

I'm posting early in case the power goes out. I really hate this new phrase: ''bomb cyclone'', what the heck! Bomb? Cyclone? Do I need that anxiety. I think weather people love dire tidings and scary names. I'll be old fashioned and call this storm a nor'easter. Talk to you soon!

                                                      

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

October sunset behind and old gnarled pine:

Saving seeds, this is the rose campion, from same friend as marsh mallow.

On IG I saw dried goldenrod. I hope there's some left for me to harvest after this storm.