Mmmm... it's my favourite part of autumn....

As per usual, after going to Gamlitz, I get all jazzed up with new impressions, and go into stream-of conciousness mode and hardly get to bed before four a.m. And get up grouchy and go into hermit mode. And waaay oversleep. Except Dorle called. And sort of pressured me into meeting her and Günther 'out on the square', Peter business. So I sort of growled a bit, but said ok. After all, they are in Salzburg most of the time, so it was important... So we sat out in the garden of a Gasthaus, they had lunch, and we spent a very nice almost an hour out in the sun, and it was glorious weather, mild, warm, and I think we all enjoyed that... You can cover a lot of territory in nearly an hour doing some catch-up... man, Günther has seen more of the US than I ever did... Doing presentations as children's surgeon. He's pretty stellar, remember some of the things I helped with at the beginning. And saw the good side and the bad side of 'Murka. And I was thinking about how we all were when we were young. Life can be so HARD on you over decades, and we all got our knocks... and somehow we survived...

I thanked my friend today... When Peter had his stroke, he was kind enough and had enough 'juice' to call the hospital Peter was in and get a consult with a colleague. And he told me that because of the many years of being on insulin, his brain structure had changed. That was a very kind thing to do, because I KNEW what he was trying to tell me, and watch out for it.

What can I say, up till a couple of months ago, there were slips, but I KNEW... That was a nice thing for him to do. Luckily we had a couple of years, and I thought I could handle that... But found it harder than I thought. Forewarned is forearmed, and so forth, but once you GET there, it's terra incognita, and you fly by the seat of your pants.... But am grateful for being forewarned.... It would have been much more horrible if I hadn't had a clue. That's what friends do.

I think that when we were young, we thought we were invincible, but LIFE isn't like that.... and has some hard lessons. But we are all still here... fighting on... gone grey and long in the tooth... those we have... So I was glad I got out of my hidey hole for a bit, and enjoyed that little time.... Some of you have met them... But Autumn is here....

It''s glorious muted 'Technicolor'. Greens and golds, and a flash of red here and there for emphasis, and the light is sort of golden, a very special light. I shoved Peter up onto the height yesterday, he so wanted to be out, experience the sun and the breeze, and was happy. He loved this little farm up the hill.. puff, puff. It was worth doing, it made him happy.

From the bus stop, I could see how autumn is advancing. The grapes on the vinyard have been harvested, the gold is advancing apace, and I would SWEAR that sky is what I call 'NH blue'. It appears now and then, you know...




In front of the facility, there was a bed of mini-margaritas, or daisies, or whatever you call them.. I hadn't seen them so small before.







And you KNOW it is autumn when the asters bloom. And the Fette Hennen...(fat hens).... they always bloom last. I had one in my garden, and it drove Peter crazy. 'What did you plant a CACTUS for, for cripes sake?' 'It's not a cactus, just wait and see, ok? Trust me.' He was always disgruntled about my 'fat hen, and it wasn't even big... And in October, he would say, 'It's sorta nice....'

Gawwd, I miss my garden, being out, and planning, so that every week 'something' would bloom... And caring for them, and being all 'parental'. So that is why I post so many flower photos. I guess.... Other people have pets. I had my garden. And I miss it terribly.