How long will summer keep holding on? Part II

Well, I got my answer to that question, with the arrival of two separate and seemingly unrelated occurrences.  I have been knocked off my feet by a wicked head and chest cold, and we have been treated for the last day or two to gloomy, rainy weather, and much lower temperatures than what we had all become accustomed to during this long and meandering summer.  

When I did a meds run to my local Shopper's Drug Mart earlier today, to stock up on some goodies to blast the sickness right out of me, I witnessed further proof that autumn is arriving with a vengeance -- I saw lots of leaves on the ground, and ... horror of horrors, there were plenty of red and gold leaves on the maple trees, when just a week ago everything was green, green, green.  Being to sick to care, I didn't have my camera with me, so I didn't capture any shots of those tiny signs of fall ... but I did experience a surreal moment, right out of a popular Staples commercial.  You know the one - that back to school add, where the girl starts screaming, upon seeing one little autumn leaf on the sidewalk?!  Yep, that was me, screaming in the car, as I passed tree after tree, whose west-facing branches were covered in red, red foliage.  And no, they were not Japanese Maples, either.  

So, upon arriving home, after I dosed up on OTC drugs, and crawled back into bed, and feeling a bit bored, but too woozy to get up and do any work, I flipped open my laptop and started pouring over some of my summer photos again.  As an aside, you should see my nightstand ... between lotions and potions for my eczema-plagued skin, and sinus sprays, anti-histamines, decongestants, Vics VapoRub, and lots of discarded tissues ... enough to make Felix Unger proud!  Yes, the youngsters among you may well ask, who the heck is Felix Unger?  But my generation loved the Odd Couple.  Google it.  I'm too tired to explain!  But I will share some more photos, as I sort through my stash to put together my selections for a gift of wall art made up of selections from my mother's garden.  She keeps threatening to move into a senior's home, and I am pretty sure they aren't going to let her start a garden there like the one we have been looking after at her  home.

I love those first, tiny signs of spring ...