November 21, 2021
Reflections, Day 44
“As the mountain’s shadow glides across the valley floor, the golden leaves glow in the late evening light.
–Tommy Cobb
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
― John Muir,
The evening sun shines in our eyes brightly as it slants in from the western sky.
The end of the day is a time for optimism.
It is a time to prepare for the next day
Which will be a day of delight and laughter.
The fall season begins the “evening of the year.”
For the gardener, this time of year
Is a time for anticipation, planning, and dreaming.
It is the time of the year to begin picturing next year’s garden.
I spent the past few weeks working for the future,
Removing the soon to be spent flowers of summer.
Ahhh, they were glorious. Oh, they were fun.
It was a special summer for flowers.
The fall flowers have been planted now
They will shiver through the winter
And put on a show to herald the early spring
The gardener’s optimism is planted in the soil, smiling.
The gardener will plant tulip bulbs,
He will plan for summer flowers
And he will pore through the catalogues,
Making his list and checking it twice.
Then he will prune the roses and hydrangeas,
A task that will enable the plants to make more and better blooms.
He will mulch the plants to keep their soul-like roots warm
In the twilight of the year
—john schulz
Photo by Tommy Cobb of Cloudland, Ga.
johntheplantman--Gardening 
John, this is a beautiful post. You don’t just type words. You feel them. You live them. You share them. And I thank you.
wonderful “evening of the year” ..
wabi sabi. melancholy. yet kindly forbearing.. ever hopeful …
you made me seek this:
In a gust of wind the white dew
On the Autumn grass
Scatters like a broken necklace – Bunya no Asayasu