Don't be alarmed.

If you recall, I changed the color of my blog back when we were bursting with spring. But as you can see by the black-eyed Susans in the above photo, we're nearing the end of the summer growing season so I'm taking on this muted tone.

I'll tell ya... I love black-eyed Susans. Every year when our garden was nearing its end and the leaves on our hostas were wilted, and the last of the tiger lily petals had curled up on their long stalks, up would sprout those happy bushes of black-eyed Susans.

God, I was torn seeing them. I absolutely loved the burst of color they'd provide against our browning lawn, but they also signified the near end of my beloved garden for the season. Yes, fall is around the corner. Pretty soon, we'll be bringing out the scarves and the mid-length fall jackets. We'll trim back the lilies and the hostas, and we'll yank the tomato and cucumber plants.

I'd be worried about all this just by spotting those black-eyed Susans in front of Barnes and Noble if not for two wee facts: I adore those spunky yellow flowers, and I really love the fall.