Heaven in a raindrop...

Last night it rained!

This may not seem like a big deal to those of us in these sodden lands

but this summer has been probably the lowest rainfall in recent memory.

But enough doom and gloom...I am rejoicing in last night...

I woke in the middle of the night to the soft, unmistakeable sound of a steady downpour.

I lay in bed with a sigh of utter pleasure...glorious rain!

This morning everything was coated in heavenly droplets of moisture...

The earth exhaled...

...took a big drink...

Hopefully there's more on it's way.

The garden is smiling...

...the Virginia Creeper has donned her fall blush, reminding us of whats to come...

Even our little pirate's smirk is brighter...Sweet Georgia loves water.

She will purposely run under the sprinkle of a hose to get wet.

So all is well for now in her little kingdom.

Subtleties....

There's tiny, subtle changes in the air...

...cooler in the mornings and evenings, leaves browning and floating to the forest floor...

 I walk these paths with Griff in my heart...

 It was an easy walk for him in his later days, not far from home with shaded, soft paths...

Now days these trails are walked on more frequently since becoming a 'real park'...

There's two new docks...not just simple ones but pretty skookum ones...

 (Oh! there's Rosie who came with me today)

The docks are meant to last, with metal ramps, cement bases...

 A place to sit and take a breather...

 even a place to put your fishing rod, if you're so inclined...

There's another one down the lake a ways for swimming and dangling toes in the water...

Soon enough the summer will fade, as it always does and the rain we've been hoping for

will be a curse on our lips until we're soaked to the bone and ready for spring again...

...but will we really?

Not me.

I welcome the change in the seasons...

Though this year the biggest change for me will be walks without my Griffy...

...but he'll always accompany me in spirit no matter where I wander.