Blessed relief...

I'm feeling better.

The asters and sweet autumn clematis are in full bloom.

The chrysanthemums are covered in buds.

The 'Rozanne' geraniums and lobelia are still going strong. So are the plumbago I put in two years ago, the hibiscus we received as trial plants this spring and a sweet little dwarf phlox named 'White Flame' that's been blooming under the kitchen window for weeks.

The roses are coming back.

And those plants that I broke down and deadheaded in August (the balloon flowers, Shasta daisies, veronicas and ladybells)--well, they're back, too.

Even the birds have returned from their nearly-week-long sabbatical. I don't know where they were. But they are home now, feasting on the crab apples.

And all is right with my world...