snip snip, climb, move on

They came earlier than last year and will end earlier too. I was ready for them and now I am ready to move on. That's how I feel about the flowers and especially the lilies that grow in my flower fields. Beautiful, but nearing an end. And that's okay.

My temperament is tied to seasonal change: I like the winter snow and spring sunshine, I like fall briskness and summer lazy day warmth, and I am always ready for the transformation that start to push us into the season that is just around the corner.

These are my thoughts as I clean the garden this morning. How many lilies have I snipped off this year? Thousands of course. Snip, snip... It isn't especially hot, but it is buggy alright. I have images of cold winter days with not a single mosquito in sight... Mmmm... At the same time, it's still colorful and very pretty out there!

Breakfast... so nice on the porch! But, nice in the kitchen, too. Expansive, colorful here. Sweet and cozy there. Cat on table in either place!

The weather is so pleasant that Ed suggests a bigger hike -- one that will test my capacity to resume the ups and downs and longer treks with the new knee. We've been meaning to go back to the Ice Age Trail as it makes its way up to the bluff west of Cross Plains (which is west of Madison). This day seems perfect for it.

And it is gorgeous there right now! The savanna, the prairie fields of golden flowers -- stunning at every turn. I'll post photos in a stream (9 in all, bypassing the forest pics, since those images look much like the woodsy areas around here!) of uninterrupted splendor. As if you're hiking with us!

And the breeze chased (most of) the bugs away, and my knee held up, and the loop was nothing short of exhilarating. 

We come home tired but happy.