A beautiful beginning to this last day of September here in the Carondelet Garden.  The Rock Garden is looking quite amazing this Fall.  The weather has certainly been a bit wild this past weekend.  Today is going to be exceptional with highs in the low 80s after mid 60s this morning.  A great day to garden and walk the Doodle!

We've pondered our successes and failures in the garden this year.  The tomatoes, which were such a bonanza last year, were a bust this year.  The early hail and heavy rains, the inconsistent weather, the extreme heat and my inability to keep things watered were all against a great crop.  The herbs did amazingly well.  The flowers were mostly a hit.  The hostas were healthy but ugly with the holes and gapes from the Spring hailstorm.  Snap peas were a bust.  Eggplants a success. Lettuce did reasonably well as did our potato harvest.  The garlic was, at best, okay.  The sweet onions were a triumph.

All in all, not too bad.  We are in that time of year where everything is winding down a bit as we prepare for Winter.  The garlic will be planted soon.  The Fall lettuce is looking pretty good, as long as I can keep the Doodle Dog from jumping in the beds looking for her ball.  I guess a lot of success in growing anything well is that subtle blend of confidence and intuition.  Add to that a bit of luck!

October is almost here.  How did your garden do?  

Be good and be kind as we bring September to an end.  It's a good day for a good day.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's wet and dark on this Friday morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  The clouds and rain should stick around all day.  We may get over an inch of rain! We could use it, but not too much! We are praying for our friends in the southeast today.

The rain is very welcome as the lawn project in the back garden is finally finished.  I will have updates and pictures soon.  I'm excited and a little apprehensive about this change.  Time will tell.

This lawn project has definitely taken a toll on the old joints.  I certainly do not have the stamina I once had.  I definitely do not recover as quickly from the hardest labor.  It is true that aging well does not mean that we will not change physically.  What it does mean is that we cannot, nor should we define ourselves by the physical changes.  Here's the good news:  we now have the time to do it a bit more slowly.  Take the time you need to do the job at your own pace.  What used to take me a few hours can now take me a few days.  You know what?  That's just fine.  

Getting older is nothing to apologize for or fear.  Only the old can show that aging can be a vibrant and fun place to be.  Now is not the time to simply sit down and wait for this amazing life to be over.  As my Irish ancestors would say, "knocking another day out of it till the great day comes!"

Time to knock another day out on this last Friday in September.  Where did this month go?  Fall is here.  You can feel it in the cooler evenings and shorter days.  Saint Louis University's homecoming is this weekend.  Always a fun event.  Rest and relaxation and a bit of rejuvenation is on the menu for the next few days.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

Sunny skies and cool temperatures this morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  We should keep the sunny skies all day with highs reaching into the upper 70s.  It is the perfect gardening day here in South Saint Louis.

We are in the process of switching our small grass area in the backyard to a micro clover lawn.  We are using miniature white clover which is a small-leaved clover that is drought-tolerant and enhances soil health by fixing nitrogen, promoting a lush, green landscape with minimal maintenance. It is supposed to give us less mowing and watering.  Most importantly, it is supposed to be able to tolerate pet urine.  Our poor Tall Fescue cool weather grass just simply could not stand up to the Doodle test.  We are ever hopeful this will work!

I am tired and sore from tearing out the old lawn yesterday and adding in compost to prepare for the new lawn.  I smile to myself at what a joy it is to be beyond the years when getting established and getting secure were the focal points of my life.  I'm grateful for this season where I am left with the awesome possibility of living.  Simply living.  

I've discovered that success is much simpler than they ever told us.  It has more to do with simply having the basics, with learning to be happy, with getting in touch with our spiritual selves, with living a balanced life.  The only test of a good life is the happiness it brings to yourself and others.

I read a quote the other day from Marie von Roher-Eschenbach that said, "In youth, we learn.  In age, we understand."  Yep!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

The skies are still dark, not a star in the sky on this Monday morning in Autumn in South Saint Louis.  The weather folks are saying that we should be getting showers and thunderstorms this morning.  Gusty winds and small hail are possible.  Who knows? Happy Fall, Ya'll!

I love the word "Fall" for this time of year.  In every way possible it fits this season with the falling leaves all around.  It's the time of year where day and night hand in the balance as the season begins to tip toward the dark and the year begins its wane.

We have to know and go with the seasons.  There's nothing good to come from fighting it.  We will lose!  The garden teaches us nothing if not flexibility.  We measure the seasons by what happens in our own backyard. 

"How​ beautiful the leaves grow old, how full of light and color their last days."  -John Burroughs

​I've learned that it is only in the now that I learn to live, and it is in the now that is the focus of this stage of my life.  We live here now, and only here.  We live here so simply, deliberately, lovingly and with hearts of gratitude and forgiveness.  We live here now in the Autumn.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's a cloudy morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  We have been in a bit of drought this late in the season.  The good news is that showers are in the forecast for the next few days along with much cooler temperatures.  The high reached 94-degrees yesterday!  We will surely welcome the heavenly moisture.  

Today we finish the chore list that has hung over our heads for the past week.  This weekend is a busy one but fun, nonetheless! Time to get to work! It's a good day for a good day to be sure.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's another beautiful sunny morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  The temperatures are quite lovely in the lower 60s.  The sunshine should stick around with a few clouds moving in this afternoon.  Highs will reach the upper 80s yet again.  

The danger in getting older is that we may actually start acting old.  It is the fun that keeps us laughing and laughing that keeps us happy in the here and now.  For the past few months, we have been had the pleasure of having dinner with my amazing niece and her incredible little one who is just over one year old once a week.  To say that laughter and joy are the main course at dinner is an understatement.  Our little great-niece is simply joy in human form.  Her little jabbering and she is trying so desperately to tell a story and then laughing in full-throated glee simply makes my heart sing!  What grace!

Getting older, like every other stage in life is about learning.  It may actually be, in this time of my life, that I am able to learn best what life is truly meant to be all about.  Life is meant to be about living.  Live it well, live it fully, soak it up, revel in it!  Acknowledging the grace when it happens is the first step.  Smell the roses.  Linger just a little while longer and savor the view.  

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:38 (NIV)

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

The humidity has returned to the Carondelet Garden these past few days.  This morning is no exception.  Even with the temperatures in the upper 60s it is already a bit sticky outside.  The sunshine should stick around during the morning hours, but the clouds may roll in this afternoon.  Highs near 90-degrees.  

It is an odd moment in life right now.  The world, our country, and our city are in such turmoil with so much anger around yet our main task in life is to learn not to fear the fear.  Every sign of change, the very things we fear are often a call to a new beginning.  We are the change.  It simply begins with us.  Making the world a bit more beautiful.  

I've learned that whenever I count age as nothing but a series of losses, I lose sight of the good and wonder about me.  Now is the time for mystery to come alive.  The bottom line is that nothing is sure anymore.  My entire future is one big maybe.  I might still be here tomorrow, and I might not. Yet, somehow, we learn to wonder again.  We learn that getting up every day can be fun, can be wonder-full.  Somethings going to happen, what is it going to be?

It's a new week in mid-September.  Fall is just around the corner. The world is changing in so many ways.  I'm praying for hope today.  Here's to making our little part of the world a bit more beautiful and filled with wonder.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's a wet morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  We are grateful for the heavenly moisture on this Friday the 13th in September.  The Coleus is giving us big time Fall vibes.  Are you ready for Fall in St. Louis?

September is a magical month with golden light and some of the best weather Saint Louis has to offer.  You know it's September when you start seeing outdoor fairs and markets coming at us almost every weekend.  The mornings and evenings are lovely and sometimes even requiring a sweater or jacket.  The days are warm but usually not as humid as our August neighbor.  There is definitely a marked seasonal shift happening.  School has started, new seasons of the symphony and theatre, there's a new feeling in the air.

We welcome the rain.  We have been in a bit of a drought.  This may not change things drastically, but it will help!  A lovely way to start the day.  Enjoy this weekend eve.  The market in Tower Grove tomorrow.  Greenfield Festival in Kirkwood and Macklind Days on Sunday.  It's a good weekend for the #supercoololdpeople in South Saint Louis.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's a beautiful morning here in the Carondelet Garden on this Wednesday morning in September.  We should see plenty of sunshine and the return of 90-degree weather by this afternoon.  Yet, it is so obviously September as the heat comes but the evenings seem to cool down so much faster and become very pleasant indeed.

It is such a joy when the butterflies show up in such numbers here in the Garden.  A sign of hope on this 9/11 Memorial Day.  It is hard to believe it was twenty-three years ago.  I remember how our nation rallied together, and for a moment, we truly became 'e pluribus unum' out of many, one: united.  I miss that.  

I am an old man and at this point in my life I have the opportunity, freedom, and the sense to recognize what freedom and opportunity demand.  I have the freedom and opportunity to be my best self.  I also have the chance to help others do the same. 

A day of grace and gratitude.  A chance to stop and thank those helpers who make the world a better place every day.  The police officers, doctors, nurses, fire professionals, teachers, grocery store clerks, truck drivers, the list could go on and on.  Thank you for what you do each and every day.  Today, I remember.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is a beautiful morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  The skies are still dark, and the sun hasn't quite come up just yet.  The weather folks say the sunshine will be plentiful with winds light and variable.  It is almost chilly outside this morning.  The thermometer read 47-degrees.  Lovely!

It's been quite the weekend around the Carondelet Cottage.  Our sweet little Bonny Doon had her surgery to get spayed on Friday.  She did very well.  She's quite the little trouper.  The doctor told us we need to keep her quiet and no jumping or running for ten days.  We laughed and laughed.  I asked her "have you ever tried to keep a Doodle down?"  She gave us anti-anxiety meds.  They help a little but little Bonny has a very strong will.  Yesterday while we tried to keep her contained on the back porch, she chewed through her leash.  Did I mention she has a very strong will?  She's definitely in the right family.

Not a lot of rest for the weary here in the Carondelet Garden.  I'm going to try to install my new raspberry trellis this week.  Try, being the operative word.  Not sure how that will go with the Doodle needing constant supervision.  This week may be a wash for this old gardener.  Maybe, just maybe she will want to take a long nap this afternoon.  An old man can dream.

It's another week.  The weather is beautiful.  It's a good time to be kind to yourself and good to your neighbor.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.