rambles around the garden in the rain

i have spent so little time in the garden recently.  days went from mosquito-hot to clammy-cold with little of that glorious autumnal summer in between.  but this morning, i put on my wellingtons and tromped around the perimeter to see how things are faring.

~ the violet seems to thrive on my neglect, surviving on the back porch, more than once burned by late afternoon sun and, now, rejuvenated by the rain-filled air ~

 ~ summer flowers arching towards the earth,

bowed down by all the recent rain ~

~ the basil leaves yellowed, a last batch of pesto lost

to the cool, wet weather (as well as my limited time) ~

 ~ on the back fence, these porcelain berries

resemble tiny speckled bird's eggs ~

 ~ and, under the dogwood canopy, leaves glow

green, gold, and red ~

 ~ the clematis, which i diligently (and daily) curled around the lamp post this summer, is covered with 

miniature white star-like blooms ~

 ~ the stump of an old, forked dogwood that used to stand guard near the birdfeeder is now home to fungus and moss rather than sparrows and finches ~

 ~ i hope the autumn flowers, sasanqua camellia and sweet olive (which announced autumn's arrival with a sweet, subtle scent days before the little white flowers burst open),

will outlast the rains ~

 ~ like a leopard, this leaf ~

 ~ and the figs have, once again, come to naught.

they remain hard, green fruit, now absent of warm sun

even as the rain finally arrives ~

 ~ after my ramble, i fixed myself a fried egg and tomato on toast and left the garden and rain to their cold, wet day ~