It's the final Friday in August.  It's going to be hot once again but blessed rain is in the forecast.  We really do need some heavenly moisture and a bit of relief from this heat would be welcome as well.  Rain down on me!

It seems as I get older, I spend more and more either making a doctor's appointment, sitting in a doctor's office or waiting to see a doctor.  I guess that is part of the process.  Growing up the doctor we visited pretty much took care of everything.  Now, I am referred to a specialist of one kind or another for everything.  I'm pretty healthy for an old guy.  Aches and pains from arthritis and the other ailments that come from living a long life but that's just the way it is.  Wouldn't trade it for anything.  

I have come to enjoy the feeling of surviving the climb.  It is empowering to be free from the competition, of the unending demands for self-sacrifice.  At this point it is simply life and nothing more.  This final third of life is simply being alive and learning to live well, simply, humbly and be a sign to the rest of the world that there is so much goodness in life.  

Be good and be kind to yourself and others as you continue your journey into the weekend.  College football has begun! So much to look forward to this Fall.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

The blessed rain last night brought a bit of relief to the Carondelet Garden on this Ordinary Wednesday morning in late August.  The weather folks tell us we could see a few more scattered thunderstorms developing later this afternoon.  The skies are currently cloudy overhead and should stay that way the rest of the morning.  It's going to be another hot day here in South Saint Louis.

The heat has absolutely stalled any gardening plans for this old gardener.  I had planned to set out my lettuce seedlings this week, but I've put that on hold for another week.  Better safe than sorry at this point.  The Garden Doodle and I are ready for this weather to break.  Come on Fall!

A few appointments today that need to be taken care of. A few more chores to finish for the coming week.  It's been a really busy time for the #supercoololdpeople here in Carondelet but that is simply life.  We are both blessed beyond measure and smart enough at this moment in our lives to recognize that grace!

Be careful if you have to venture out and about today.  Be good to yourself and kind to others.  It's what we all need right now!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is a bit cloudy outside in the Carondelet Garden this last Monday morning in August.  Don't let that fool you as the temperatures are going to climb into the upper 90s before the day is over.  A heat advisory has been issued for our lovely City of Saint Louis for most of this week.  We may hit triple digits tomorrow.  Please be careful if you are out and about this week!  It's back to the heavy watering for the garden.

A fun-filled weekend for the #supercoololdpeople in the Carondelet Cottage.  We started with our almost weekly "Thirsty Thursday" happy hour, then dinner with friends on Friday, and a lovely visit to Novella Wine Bar on Saturday evening.  I may need to detox from all of the amazing food!

I am a bit of an introvert.  If given a choice I would stay home, listen to good music, have a glass of wine and read a good book.  But that can be a lonely life and Dr. B is my balance as she is an amazing people person.  We have been together for so long that we have created a wonderful balance.  She appreciates a quiet evening now and I appreciate a last-minute get-together on occasion.  The simple joys of life!

It's the last week of August.  School is in full swing all around the area.  Fall is just around the corner.  We were both educators in our former lives, so Fall is always our new year.  We can feel it in our bones.  There is something about the changing of the trees, the cooler evenings, the shorter days and longer nights and all of the festivals that just make you smile.  It's a good day for a good day.  Take care of yourself these next few hot days.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's a lovely 57-degrees outside this morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  A mix of clouds and sunshine fill the skies.  We should see temps a little more normal for this time of year in the upper 80s.  Still not bad for August in the Lou!

I am filled with gratitude this morning.  Gratitude for this amazing life I've been gifted because I certainly do not deserve the blessings I have.  Gratitude for relatively good health.  Gratitude for amazing family and friends.  Amazing neighbors and the kind strangers who often stop and chat while I'm out weeding.

I am thankful that I now have the opportunity and freedom to be the best self I have ever been.  And, hopefully, encourage others as well.  Emily Dickenson said, "We turn not older with years, but newer every day." It took a while for that to truly sink in as there are some days I do not feel very new.  But I get it.  We are gifted new opportunities every single day.  We are not too old to seize those opportunities and make the world a little bit better by our efforts.

A friend asked this week how I was doing?  I laughed and said, "Well, I can't ski anymore with these old arthritic knees and a bad hip.  But, then again, I never skied before and never really wanted to!"  The truth is I can do most things, it simply takes me a bit longer than before.  Honestly, that's good!  I don't have to rush or hurry anymore.  I rest when I need it.  I stop when before I start hurting too much.  Dr. B always tells me it will still be here tomorrow. If not then, then the next day!  The world will not end if this little project isn't finished right now.  What a gift!

Gratitude. Thankfulness.  Grace.  Happy Friday in August.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

We woke up to Fall in the Carondelet Garden.  It was 57-degrees outside this morning as the Garden Doodle and I went outside to check on things.  A beautiful day ahead with temperatures in the mid-70s and a mixture of sun and clouds.  A perfect day in South Saint Louis, especially for the month of August!

If you live in the City of Saint Louis, you know that little strip of land between the sidewalk and the street.  Here in the Carondelet Garden that was the only grass area left.  It was becoming a bit of a pain to bring out the lawn mower for what was a five-minute job at most.  This year we dug up the old Zoysia warm season lawn and replaced with a Missouri Native Pollinator Garden.  I think I'm really enjoying the result.  It is a bit of a folly but a good one.  The bees, butterflies and hummingbirds have all discovered this little patch and seem to be having such a good time.  Joy unceasing and full of glory!

All of those crazy ideas I have had over the years I now have the time to actually do some of them.  This is my time to put some soil and seeds in the ground and grow something.  I finally have the time and, for the time being, have the energy to feed and water, weed and putter.  I now have the time to be patient.  We can finally sit and enjoy a beautiful sunset since we are not rushing home in thick traffic as the sun goes down and we barely even notice.

It's mid-week in the latter part of August.  It does feel like Autumn, but we all know that is not the case.  Summer will return to our little neighborhood.  For now, we enjoy that second cup of coffee.  Listen to the BBC Radio 3 waiting for The Proms to begin.  It's a good day for a good day!  Be good and be kind to yourself and others as you journey about this Wednesday.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is a glorious morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  The milder temperatures have returned to South Saint Louis along with lower humidity.  The skies are partly cloudy with temps in the lower 60s as we start our Monday.

The garden keeps giving even on this late August day.  The flowers are in fine fiddle fashion and keep giving us a bit of grace and hope.  We keep deadheading the Zinnias and Dahlias, the roses and black-eyed susans and they keep giving us joy!  Never would I ever imagine as a young person that I would wake each morning looking forward to getting my hands in dirt and pulling weeds.  

E.M. Forster once said, "We must be willing to let go of the life we planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." To that, I say, Amen!  Even if took so many years for me to figure some of it out.  One of the functions, truly one of the gifts of aging is to become comfortable with who we are rather than mourning what we aren't.  

A busy week ahead for the #supercoololdpeople in the Carondelet Cottage.  We are meeting up with a lovely friend for breakfast, a few tests to take, dinner with our lovely nieces, and a bit of gardening will be done as well.  A good week to keep a bit of faith and hope and share as much love and kindness as possible.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is cloudy and humid here in the Carondelet Garden on this Friday morning in August.  The storms last night brought some much-needed moisture to South Saint Louis.  Today the heat will return with a high in the mid-90s as the skies clear a bit for the afternoon.  

It's been a week of chores for the old gardener.  While I am busy here in the garden, I have also helped my sweet niece and my chosen family with a few chores they are not comfortable doing themselves.  My skills are nothing to brag about but age and necessity have given me the ability to do a wide variety of things around the house and I love to help when I can.  It is their sincere and humbling gratitude that gets to me so often.  In this world where so many simply expect things my family are effusive in their love and gratitude.  What an incredible feeling.  All is gift.  Meaning abounds.  Yet there is no path to gratitude.  There is no way that does not start without paying attention.  

We can never show gratitude unless we first notice that simple, ordinary gift before us.  It can be a person, an ordinary meal, a few simple fixes here and there, or a bowl of homemade ice cream.  We live and move in a world filled with so many gifts simply waiting to be discovered.

We often forget that paying attention is the one overlooked expression of love.  The Jesuits tell us that God is in all things and all people.  If we truly believe that, then we can appreciate and respond to that divine presence, but we can only respond if we first notice it!

A bit of gratitude today.  Gratitude for the kindness and support I have been given by so many.  Thankfulness for my gardening friends, my family, my neighbors and bosom buddies.  It's a good day for a bit of gratitude.  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is cloudy out in the Carondelet Garden this morning.  The clouds are expected to stick around all day with highs in the low 80s.  Unseasonably mild for mid-August in Saint Louis.  No complaints as the lawn must be mowed today.  

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" This is the day the Lord has made.  This one.  I didn't wake up this morning to a vague, general mercy from a far-off Creator.  I woke up to a creation filled with delight and knowing that this simple, ordinary day that I sometimes see as yet another monotonous day in a string of monotonous days is the day I am given as a gift.  Today I have a gift I can share or hold onto.  A gift to use or destroy.  What will I do with the gift I am given?

Annie Dillard writes that "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."  Am I filled with faith, hope and wonder?  Do I share that with others? How do I share this amazing gift I have been given?  Transformation happens in our simply, ordinary life when we dwell in creation with our Creator and our neighbors.  Sharing, growing, living with the faith and hope and love that tomorrow will come and the harvest will be plentiful.  

We are planting Fall lettuce and Rocket right now.  The Christmas "tatties" are in their grow bags and have already made an impressive start.  I'm excited as this is my first year trying potatoes for a second harvest in late Fall.  A bit of faith and hope happening right here in the Garden. 

How do we spend our days?  Here's a bit of faith and hope and a dash of love to share as you make your journey today.  Be good and be kind to yourself and others.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is cloudy and overcast here in the Carondelet Garden on this Monday morning in August.  The weather folks tell me that rain is in the forecast.  My old arthritic knees and hip are seconding that opinion.  

The temperatures have been nothing short of glorious for this time of year in South Saint Louis.  We are in need of rain.  We welcome the heavenly moisture as do the plants all around the garden.  Rain down on me!

It's that time of year when I need to take a moment and reflect and see what is working and what isn't in the garden.  It's been a wild and weird summer of weather extremes.  We are doing a bit of garden math with some adding and subtracting these days.  It's a good time to pay attention to the creation we have been given to care for.  A time to allow for a gentle, growing gratefulness to spread.  It is time for the simple, ordinary task of taking notice of the life around us and to stand still and take in the beauty.  Take a moment to listen to the pretty.

It's a good day for a good day.  Be kind to yourself and others as you journey about this week.  We all need a bit of kindness right now.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

The weather out in the Carondelet Garden this morning is nothing short of amazing!  Mid 60s, low humidity and bright, blue skies overhead.  One of those morning filled with hope and grace!

The Alliums are absolutely stunning still.  These beauties began blooming in May and are still going strong.  Some are beginning to turn to over, but they are glorious this year.  My garden where I plant seeds of gratitude, joy, abundance, health and peace.  Joy unceasing!

We lost a dear friend last night.  He and his wife moved to North Carolina almost twenty years ago now and we didn't get to see each other that often but when we did it was like no time had passed.  He was kind and brilliant, loving and opinionate.  The most loveable of curmudgeons.  He will be missed!

It seems we each have but a fleeting moment between those who came before us and those who come afterward.  I am in that season of life where endings are happening much too often.  Then we also get to witness the joys of new life and the growth of the young people we get the privilege of mentoring.  We must embrace the love and hope where we find it.  Celebrate the good!

​Be good and be kind to yourself and others as you journey about this weekend.  The weather is beautiful so we will definitely be out and about enjoying.  Maybe we will see you at a Farmers Market!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.