Company Coming

I am never ready for this time of year.  Decades of my gardening heartbeat declining predictably- in tandem with the season is to blame-not my age. I have a long history of slowing and closing down.

 
We are everything but slowing down. The transformation from a growing season to a glowing season is lots of work, but, I must admit, great fun. The biggest responsibility from which I am relieved? The “gardens” I do this time of year are momentary, entirely celebratory, and do not require regular watering, feeding, pruning, dividing-or winter protection.

History is just that-history; yes?  In fact, my winter and holiday season  today is as busy as my spring. I am not sorry for this; I am bemused first, energized second, and eventually chased by it. Why should I be surprised-no one loves the coming of the cold and the dark.  All of this festivity warms me up.

 I have company coming tonight-our Thursday night holiday open house we regularly schedule for mid November. Should you ask me now, at  7:34pm this Wednesday night before-am I ready?  Not really.  I just got done editing my Wednesday post.   All of my circuits are jammed;  every one of twenty vignettes calls.  My office is a wreck, and I have not opened the mail for two days.  We are finish grading a project that will get 3500 yards of sod laid tomorrow. If I could just get the empty boxes hauled away, I would feel better; ok, a special events pickup got scheduled. 

 The parking is handled, as is the food, the wine,  and the water. My landscape crews have sorted out the electrical issues outdoors.  As I write, Rob is redoing all of the lighting in the shop in anticipation of evening guests.  The shop is incredibly beautiful at night-this I share just on special occasions.

 To follow, some photographs of places and spaces in the shop that make my heart pound-like these glass raindrops and spheres.  Sparkly.

Anything that transmits or intensifies the available light I find hard to resist.  Michigan is one of those states with mostly cloudy days in the winter.

White wirework and ribbed glass-just pretty.

More tomorrow!