rain

It started last night and continued through early afternoon: lots of rain.

Yards are starting to get that littered look, like the remnants of a party that has ended. Wet, wrinkled leaves spread out around trees.

In a comment below, Lemming refers to what is still blooming in her yard, and I've been thinking about that, too.

Some plants are already on their course to yellow, when they shrivel up their foilage, while others act as if summer still had a couple more months. This resistance is not just with annuals -- my talk rocket snapdragons are continuing their blooms, no surprise since they like cool air -- but the butterfuly bushes are pushing out still, with blooms, as are the leftover pumpkin vines with their yellow flowers and small orange balls.

The japanese anemones are quite cheerful still, in their pale pink blossoms. The perennial begonias are half-and-half, with some still quite perky and others drooping from the frost nip caused during the first part of the week.