FLAVOR EXPLOSION

The pomegranates have arrived!

Where could anybody find a most sensual fruit? Well, there's always guavas and mangoes, but in this latitude, finding these luscious flavor bombs in the market is always a red banner day. The Spanish word for this beautiful fruit is GRANADA, and that is also the word for hand grenade. I can see it so clearly... an explosion of flavor inside your mouth. Close your eyes, fill the passion running on your tongue. You are eating rubies. Enjoy them while they last, which is not a long time. For those who have asked me how to eat a pomegranate: Slice off the top with a knife, break the fruit with your fingers. Remove the seeds. Put a handful of seeds in your mouth and press with your tongue onto your palate. I recommend you don't wear white clothes while you do this. The juice will run and spot everything. Maybe eating them naked would be more appropriate. Throw a fistful of seeds into the mouth of your naked eating partner... Uhm... I have the feeling this could turn pornographic if I go on... And remember... not only is it sexy to eat a pomegranate, it's also chuck full of antioxidants. A new friend advised me that squeezing the juice of a pip into the eyes will cure conjunctivitis (pink eye). I can think of more ways to eat this juicy, sweet, full-flavored gem, but I've had enough titillation for one day. Have a satisfying experience!

RAPTOR IN THE GARDEN

A flurry of activity inside and outside Furball Cottage. I'm flying to get ready and leave for a court assignment. The birds outside are chattering and flying about sending distress signals. Must explore the situation. The judge can wait. Right there, by the window, perched on a branch of the old cherry tree, a hawk! No time for binoculars or identification guide, just rush for the camera and try to get as good as shot as possible. Of course he turned his head at the last moment and, sensing the clicks, only allowed two exposures. His claws, however, tell the whole story. Bright yellow in the early autumnlight, those prehensile toes and hooked black nails, perfect for the purposes of capturing prey and ripping it apart. What a magnificent creature. The birds may not like you, Mr. Hawk, but you're always welcome in my garden, especially if you go after the squirrels, moles and chipmunks. Oh, and by the way, I made it in time for court, although I had already rehearsed my apology: "Your Honor, unavoidably detained by raptor".

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!

Bud of Viburnum 'Eskimo' / Snowball tree

They are gone forever, or so you'd think if you didn't know better. In reality they're just hiding and will explode again next spring in all their glorious force and blow off our eyeballs and minds with their tremendous beauty. Here they are, lurking and waiting to surprise us in just a few months.

For now, we wait, and huddle around the fire and count our blessings as one season leaves and another approaches.
We are alive. We have made it through another summer, another year, and so have they. O that we may be just as resilient and assured of what is to come as they are!

Buds of Cornus florida / Dogwood

Buds of Hydrangea quercifolia / Oak leaf hydrangea

SOUVENIR

Josephine Bonaparte was born and raised in the Caribbean. She had a penchant for roses and gardens and clothes. Those are pretty much our only similarities. She married a short man; I married a tall one. She was an Empress. I rule my own kingdom in half an acre. This faded oak-leaf hydrangea reminded me of Josephine. Malmaison, her house outside Paris, is now a museum that shows many of her personal belongings. Besides being a flirt, she was a tender and good-hearted woman and I'm convinced she would have loved these subdued tones. She faded rapidly after her divorce and died pining for her "Petit General". This blossom would have made a perfect offering at her grave.

OCTOBER LIGHT

Yes, it is richer and warmer and more complex than any other light at any other time of the year. It envelopes and caresses like a lover's last passionate embrace before a long voyage. If you keep your eyes wide open, you will see what's coming right behind it. But for now, all you want to do is cling to it, cover your skin with its warmth and hope against hope that it will never leave you.

NANDINA AND HER BERRIES

Nandina domestica / Heavenly bamboo. Will grow anywhere, from Tucson to Siberia. Full sun to shade. And those berries...! Think of the flower arrangements! A true winner. As resilient and graceful as the Philadelphia Phillies, who, by the way, are going to the World Series next week! Go Phillies!

A THING OF BEAUTY

Callicarpa dichotoma / Beautyberry. Need I say more? Graceful branches arching down covered in the most astonishing, metallic purple. Not a birds' favorite, so they add color for a little longer in Furball Cottage's Fall garden.