It's The Time of Year....

 not much going on here...garden harvest and canning is in full swing. The late summer flowers are in full bloom...here's a hybridized sunflower from an envelope of seeds I scattered last season and finally came up this year....

 ...after 15 or more years of having hollyhocks (and never adding new purchased varieties) the mix tends to hybridize as well...above is a pale yellow tinged with deep red....

...one tattered, tired looking tiger striped swallowtail flittering around the sunflowers a few days back...I feel it's pain, I'm tired myself sometimes. The weather is beginning to cool, the days are shorter---and the people who write blogs in Australia are noticeably happier, with thoughts of spring!