I am struck today by the epic shift that not only am I feeling but it seems also so many around me feeling too.  It shouldn’t be a surprise to me that other designer and gardener types are moving into another gear, after all, winter is coming.  But I am feeling a bigger shift.  Perhaps it is because it is election day (here in the USA)?  Did you vote?  I for one will be glad when this vitriol is over…national politics trickled down to my quaint (normally very tolerant and polite) little town recently and I am still finding it distressing.  The head of the Republican party here officially declared a “holy war” in an email sent to half the town becasue he doesn’t like that a group of people (not even the democratic party) are trying to get a ballot issue (for next spring) on the ballot about possibly adopting the stretch energy code (i.e. maybe our town can be a leader in green building?).  Oye! “Holy War?” Let’s take this down a notch or two shall we? I mean really, we are talking about talking about an issue.  We aren’t even able to vote yet, we don’t even know what this entails yet!!…Sheesh….I think we all need a cooling off period.  So thankfully, here comes winter.

Fellow Designer Susan Cohan made a post on the APLD website about the life cycles of the gardeners seasons that I found touched a particularly familiar note.  It’s worth a quick read.  And I really love the Joni Mitchell reference….Just finished singing along with her (3 times over)  Here, you can too….

Also, have you listened to Andrew Keyes New podcast for Horticulture magazine?  It’s like This American Life for Gardeners….I love it and can’t wait to see where it goes next…I’m pretty sure he is just getting warmed up and there are great things to come… it’s another great example of what we designers are doing in our “slow” season.
For me, I am going into writing mode….There, I said it. (My writing partner has been encouraging me to say that publicly for weeks now). She thinks it will help me clear my slate and focus…she might be right….Yes, I will be here much more often, but I am also taking swipe at writing a novel – about that historical garden project that I have mentioned a few times. My perfectionist/ optimist / totally unrealistic side expects nothing less than a NY Times bestseller to come from this effort, so please excuse my melancholy in advance – once reality sets in. Nonetheless, you can’t do anything if you don’t try and I plan to have a lot of fun trying. So, happy fall to you and best wishes for whatever the autumn and winter (or spring and summer for you Aussies) brings.
What do you have planned for the changing seasons?

image by Barbara Friedman via CC