Hearts and flowers

With more frosty nights in the forecast, it seems inevitable that some late bloomers will meet their end and possibly the resident insect in the calendula?

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It is identified as a North American tarnished plant bug which reportedly overwinters in leaf litter, so perhaps its outlook is not so dire.

Feeling regretful that the flower has had such a short existence, I bent over to examine it.

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Which is the only reason I noticed the water droplets that I find so irresistible.

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And I thought my readers would appreciate a break from Fall foliage.

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I can’t help feeling a little sad that these buds won’t ever have a chance to bloom.

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While I haven’t the passion for flowers my mother had, I do admire and appreciate them.

And I talk to them. So I offered thanks for hanging in so late in the year.

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A couple of days after the surprise of finding those flowers, I went out to freshen the water bowls and came upon another in the middle of the grass. (I really can’t call it a lawn.)

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Without modern technology most of these would go unnoticed.

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Whereas I had to bend down to get the other images, I had to reach up to the sunflower.

Its huge head is bent over but has withstood strong winds and now the seeds are forming.

The patterns of Nature are so extraordinary and wonderful.

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The little Downy Woodpecker approves too.