By late summer and early fall, the gardens at the little house in the big woods do not look their best. In truth, they are quite frowzy. (My gardens are at their peak in July.) Most of the flowers have gone by, and the slugs and snails have had their way, shredding the leaves of the irises and the hostas. The sweet, green dream of spring is long gone as the season shifts from warm to cool and eventually to very cold. Still, both my husband, Clif, and I agree that it is better to have tattered plants rather than plants that have been shaved down for their winter rest. Eventually it must be done, but I wait as long possible before giving the flowers their winter crew cut. Despite the tattered foliage, early fall still has some visual delights—bright red tomatoes and demure asters. And, on my walk this morning, I noted the large number of unripe winter berries and concluded it will be a good year for them. In late fall, I love to cut them and use them with pine in the box on our little deck.

Here are some pictures from the backyard:

On another subject…This weekend, we will be having what I have dubbed The Great Yard Sale. For the past couple weeks, I have been busy sorting and pricing items to put in the Great Sale. It is absolutely amazing what we have accumulated over the nearly 30 years we have lived in this house. I like to joke that our house is like a black hole—-what gets sucked in, stays in, and nothing escapes. Holy guacamole! The most incredible thing is that when this sale is over, and items either have been sold or have been given to Goodwill, our house will look virtually the same. No one would ever guess how much we have cleaned out. A sobering lesson on the tendency to accumulate “stuff” over the years.

My daughter Shannon will be joining us, and she has been doing some sorting of her own. She and her dog, Holly, will be staying with us for the next couple days, and it will be a treat to have them here, even though we will be working like crazy getting ready for the sale.

The weather forecast is good for this weekend. Fingers crossed that we sell lots of items and that those items will go to homes where people really enjoy them. (I admit to having a pang or two when I think about getting rid of so many sweet little things. But…)

So, I will not be blogging until next week, after the Great Sale is over. Readers, wish us luck.