Things are changing. The days are feeling crisper, the garden is slowing down, the geese are flying south, and the humming birds are gone.

I didn’t see a single humming bird the entire weekend. The sugar water level in the feeder hasn’t changed a bit. For me, the departure of the hummingbirds signifies the end of the summer season. Although autumn is my favorite time of year, its arrival always comes with a bit of sorrow. I begin to feel a bit nostalgic for warm nights with the windows thrown wide open, the summer sounds of crickets and frogs, and the slow pace that comes with summer.

I spent a most pleasurable weekend trying to hang on to the last vestiges of summer. I enjoyed stretches of time on the porch reading and drinking coffee interspersed with whirlwind bouts of weeding and yard work. I’d read for a while and then spy something that wasn’t quite right in the yard. I yanked most of the weeds in the garden, transplanted some lilies, pulled out the mint that was overflowing, dug up the errant grass from the garden walk, filled the bird feeders, etc.

During my sojourn on the porch I snapped a ton of pictures. Here are a few of the highlights. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.