Flip the calendar to August. Say goodbye to July and to the evening primroses, whose bright yellow made the gardens positively glow. But hello to the black-eyed Susans and daylilies. For the gardens at the little house in the big woods, this will be the last burst before fall. After that, the plants have a tattered, tired look. They have given their all, and by the end of the month they are exhausted, bloomed out and chewed by slugs, snails, and beetles.

But oh, the first of August, when my favorite daylily blooms. Such a red beauty.

However, the other daylilies are lovely, too.

Less showy but much appreciated are the black-eyed Susans,  and sometimes I even catch a little inhabitant of the garden.

Another little inhabitant.

The crickets have begun their song of late summer and fall. Such a lovely but sad chorus, a harbinger of dark, cold days when the flowers are gone and there are no more patio days.

But enough of that! We have at least one more month of summer, where we can spend much of the time on the patio. Last weekend, our friends Dawna and Jim cane over. She brought her delectable margaritas, and we raised our glasses high as we said farewell to July and toasted August, one of the most beautiful months in Maine.

Too bad we couldn’t trade the tiresome, irksome month of March for another month of August. How would that work? It wouldn’t, of course.

Only in my dreams.

Oh, I wish I could hold one of these ethereal beauties in my hand and feel the wings tickle my palms. I never will, of course, as it certainly wouldn’t be good for the bird. Still, I like to imagine it as I watch the birds come to my garden.