It's a beautiful morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  The Dahlias are hanging in there with a grace that keeps me smiling on this sunny Wednesday at the end of October.  We went outside this morning to temperatures in the upper 60s and should see highs in the mid-80s this afternoon.  Did I mention it is the very end of October?  Yes, but changes are coming with gusty winds blowing in a cold front for tomorrow with rains and much lower temperatures.  We do so need the rain!

I woke up this morning feeling old.  I know that I truly am an old man, but most days I, honestly, don't feel like an old man.  Today, I feel it.  All of my joints are aching.  The changes in the weather are hitting the old arthritis hard this morning.  It is a slow, stiff start to the mid-week morning.  Life is different when you get older.  We do not simply disregard the aches and pains, but we do engage with them on a different level.  This time of life is not meant to freeze us into inaction.  It is meant to free us to mature even more.  

Aging is meant for the revival of our spirit.  What a blessing to finally realize that life does not have to be perfect to be perfect! Age allows us to play... to play with ideas, with our little projects, with friends and ultimately, with life.  Life does not have to be perfect to be perfect.  

I sit here with my morning coffee.  Lovely music playing in the background.  I lit a candle in memory of those we lost.  The scent is filling the room with memories, hope, and love.  Life does not have to be perfect to be perfect.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

A bit of a cloudy start to the day here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The clouds are supposed to stick around all day with warmer temperatures hitting the upper 70s later this afternoon.  We may even see a bit of rain on Thursday.

The garden is slowly changing into its winter mode more and more the past few days.  Leaves are changing at a rapid pace and gently falling to the ground.  We will be collecting them soon to be turned into leaf mould which will nourish the garden once again next year.  It is a circle of life indeed.

The circle of life has been on my mind these past few weeks. It is the time of year when I feel the thin places.  This week will be another funeral for a family friend.  We have had more than we wish to count this year.  I realize it is one of the things that happens as we get older.  Friends and family pass away and new lives are born and the joy and grief mix and mingle as we continue to live.  As I persist on this journey, I realize that thin spaces exist not only in the places around us but also within us.  Each of is standing at that threshold of our pain or wonder.  We are standing in our own thin place.  We soon realize that we are all broken in some way or another.  But those of us who embrace our brokenness will be transformed.  As Dr. B said, "we are broken, but somehow we fit!"  Somehow, we fit.  

Jeremiah 6:16 tells us:
"Thus says the Lord, stand at the crossroad and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."

The Irish have a saying that says, "What is not worth seeking, is not worth finding."  Seek the good way,    Cherish the memories.  Remember that God loves us, just the way we are, right now!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

A wee small rain coming down this morning at the Carondelet Garden.  It doesn't look like it will add up to much at all, but any moisture is welcome right now.  Cloudy skies should prevail throughout the day with highs in the mid 70s.

It has been incredibly dry this Fall in south Saint Louis but the flowers are still gifting us with great beauty and grace.  The changing light and color of the garden this time of year comes along with the waning of both human and plant energy.  It is still important to get as much gardening in now while the weather is cooperating.  It is the perfect time to start setting up the garden for success next year.  It is not so much putting everything to bed but preparing everything for all of the unseen action that takes place over winter.

These past few weeks and months during the election cycle I have used to garden as my refuge from the constant noise, anger and ugliness that can come out of politics.  I feel there is so much background noise that makes it harder to hear the good news.  Heading into the garden and simply taking a moment to reflect and see the way the Creator of all things is working in my life allows for a gentle, growing gratefulness to sprout in place of the weeds of bitterness and despair.  

We stood in line at our public library and voted yesterday.  The lines were longer than I expected, and that is such a wonderful sight.  It is our right and our duty to vote, and I take the privilege seriously.  If you haven't tried early voting I certainly encourage it!

It's Friday and the weekend is once again upon us.  It's the last weekend in October! How can that be?  Lots to do and College Football on Saturday!  Go Irish! Beat Navy!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

The sun is shining here in the Carondelet Garden on this Wednesday morning in October.  The sun will be around all day with highs in the mid 70s.  Another amazing day for gardening!

It seems we have a new addition to our little prayer garden on the side of the house.  This little guy has been around now for a couple of months.  She must have made a little nest for herself.  She has become quite brave and doesn't run away anymore when we walk down the gangway.  I hope she knows we certainly mean her no harm. A tiny bit of grace for this Wednesday.

The gardening and the Doodle Dog have done a number on this old man's knee and hip lately.  The arthritis has kept me from doing some of the heavier stuff these past few days.  It's better today but it is a reminder that we may no longer walk as fast as we once did, but now we are slow enough to notice the individual flowers, slow enough to enjoy the wee ones playing in their yards or riding their little trikes along the way.  We can see more clearly even through cataracts and corrective lenses.  We see more consciously.  One of the gifts of aging is to give us the ability to see everything we've missed all these years.  Thank you, Lord, for a bit of arthritis and the means to slow down and "smell the roses."

Robert Browning said it much better than I, "Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be.  The last of life, for which the first was made; our times are in His hand who saith, "A whole I planned, youth shows but half; trust God, see all, nor be afraid." And to that I say, Amen!

More walks, more gardening, a few chores and Wednesday will be in the books. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's still dark and chilly outside in the Carondelet Garden on this Monday morning in October. The fireplace is knocking the chill out of the old gardener.  The tea is keeping me company and life is pretty good as we begin a new week.  We should have plenty of sunshine and a bit warm with highs near 80-degrees.  The watering will continue!

Time is precious right now.  Time has become our companion on the way.  I am more aware of time as I grow older, constantly aware of it hovering over me like a chilling mist or the warming sun, constantly reminding me of the power of now.  It is in the present now that we learn to truly live.  This now is the focus of my getting older for it is in the now that I am living.  

As we move into late October and early November I feel as though we've entered a Thin Place as my Celtic ancestors would call it.  A place where the distance between heaven and earth is but a whisper.  As we come closer to All Hallow's Eve and All Saints and All Souls it does feel like the veil is getting thinner for a time.  We remember our loved ones who've passed on and we pray for those we still have.  We take a moment to realize that now is our time to live and to recognize that Earth is crammed with heaven as Elizabeth Barrett Browning reminded us:

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.

It is a good time to take off our shoes and walk on holy ground.  It's not a bad time to sit around and pluck the last of Fall's bounty of blackberries either.  

A bit of chill in the air here in the Carondelet Garden on this Friday morning in October.  The sun is coming up and we should see lots of sunshine today with highs in the low 70s.  Could it be much better?

The Fall lettuce is doing really well right now after a bit of a rough start.  The bunnies seemed to really like the little seedlings when they first went into the ground.  Once I replaced with slightly bigger starters, everything is going quite nicely.  Looking forward to some fresh salads in the coming days!

The little Doodle dog has been going to training the past couple of weeks.  The progress is slow but she is becoming a better walker on the leash.  She is a sassy little lassie to be sure!  "Her with those green eyes and that red hair!" Any "The Quiet Man" fans out there?

​The training session is early this morning so we are heading out soon.  A good day for a good day!  Have a great weekend.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

If you were not convinced it was Fall in St. Louis, then last night was a clear indication.  We had our first "Frost Advisory" of the season.  No worries in the City of Saint Louis as our little heat island keeps things a few degrees warmer than the rest of the region but we took precautions anyway.  Covering tender plants or placing plants in the cold frame to protect them.  I'm happy to report that all is well, but it is a chilly 36-degrees out in the Carondelet Garden on this mid-month, midweek morning.

The mums are doing their thing this year.  A beautiful rust and yellow to brighten the back beds and add a bit of Autumn glory to the garden. The days are getting shorter and after beginning the month with memories of summer, the leaves are beginning to change, and you can now imagine winter trailing hard on its heals.  

The light is magical this time of year.  The sunsets have been glorious and a touch of grace for this old gardener.  You can feel the borders and flowers slowly beginning to fade.  The intensity and vibrancy are inching their way toward the end with the first hint of frost waiting in the wings.  The winter salad greens are looking great and the last of the Fall raspberries are just beginning to turn red.

I would be remiss if I didn't wish my amazing partner for the past 42 years a happy anniversary.  42 years ago, she said yes, and we've been together ever since.  There have been hills and valleys and many trips down the side roads of life, but none of those side roads were every truly wasted.  Truth is, we learned something life-changing on each of them.  To think, it all started with a yes!  I love you, Dr. B!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

What a difference a day makes here in the Carondelet Garden.  On Saturday we were on track to set a new record high temperature and today we are going to only make it into the low 60s for a high.  We should see a mix of sunshine and clouds.  A bit of a chill in the air on this Monday in October!

We received our COVID and Flu shots last week and we were both a bit under the weather for a couple of days.  Nothing terrible but we didn't really do much but that was good.  We enjoyed reading books and magazines.  Watched some really good football.  We actually relaxed.  What fun!

I've come to believe that one of the many gifts of getting older is that I'm much more comfortable with who I am.  I don't have to worry or fret over who I'm not anymore.  It's more about what we think and say out loud that matters now, not how fast or busy we are.  Getting older is pretty easy.  You simply wake up and it happens.  Too often, for many of us, it is the fear of getting older that scares us.  Ultimately, life does not end until it does.  When we only count the losses of aging, we don't take the time to celebrate the gains!  

It looks to be a wonderful, cooler week here in the Carondelet Garden.  I will celebrate some of those gains and finish up a couple of projects.  The perfect weather for the sweatier jobs.  Here's to a beautiful day in the neighborhood. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's a beautiful morning here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The sun is shining with temperatures in the low 50s to start the day.  Don't be fooled, it's going to warm up quickly with highs in the mid to upper 80s.  A taste of summer returns to the southside.

No matter how it presents itself, October is a productive month here in the Carondelet Garden.  The harvest of Fall lettuce comes soon.  We have raspberries galore which has been a bit of a surprise.  The 2025 garlic have been planted.  We are trying a new variety this year:  Transylvania garlic.  A softneck variety that should be mild and sweet.

The days are getting shorter and shorter.  We have already had to adjust the timer for the garden lights.  We will be "Falling Back" in just a few short weeks and that means our evenings outdoors will be slowing down until new March.  Soon it will be Leafmould season as the leaves will begin to fall.  

The only rule of gardening is that there are no rules.  The longer I garden, the few assumptions I make.  It's a busy day here for the old gardener so off to work we go.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is a bit chilly out in the Carondelet Garden on this Wednesday in October.  The raspberries are doing so well this year.  We are having so much fun enjoying the sweetness of fresh fruit this Fall.  The weather is simply beautiful this time of year.  The sunshine and mild temperatures in the upper 70s this afternoon should be glorious!

I'll be heading out to do a bit of gardening soon.  The garden is my holy ground, a sacred space where I find the Creator already there, waiting.  Imagine that? The Creator of all things simply waiting for me while showing me the beauty of creation.  The Creator of all things is waiting and is always trying to get my attention.  Open my eyes! Open my heart!

Elizabeth Barret Browning once wrote "Earth's crammed with heaven, and we miss it or dismiss it."  How sad for us.  I want to be filled with wonder!  We were visiting our sweet niece and her incredible little wonder, our great-niece last night.  Talk about being filled with WONDER! I long to learn to see, hear and feel the wonders of the world like that little 18-month-old.  I'm trying to simply experience the amazing richness of this life I've be given.  

God is always, already, here.  Waiting for us.  Loving us.  Just the way we are.  Such a gift so often overlooked.  Open my eyes, Lord!  I want to see, I want to feel, I want to love!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.