When Hurricane Hermine decided to make landfall in Florida on the Western side, we knew Coastal Georgia would see some of her aftermath. As a friend called her, Her Meany, was not nice to spin-off a tornado from her wake, because it touched down on Skidaway Island. There was miraculously no loss of life but trees came down, homes were smashed and weeks later we are still waiting for the County to clear all the debris piled high at almost every curbside. Two doors away from me, a tree fell on my neighbors’ home.
Fortunately most neighbors keep their cars in the garage, but you can see what a disaster it could have been if they had not prepared.
After a couple of days of hauling tree limbs and debris from our yard, I was back to the happier chores of gardening. One of the dahlias bloomed, as if to say it will all be fine. This dahlia 
‘American Dream’ is a much deeper pink than I expected, and very different from any other photos you will see on the web. I can only chalk it up to the intense sun and heat it receives and the bloom booster I have been feeding it to get it to bloom! Jeez, it is September and I’ve been waiting since July to see some bloom from this particular plant! Dahlias and the deep South are a challenge that continues, at least in my garden!
I have been volunteering at the Sparrow Field to help maintain their pollinator garden. This is the time of year that the butterflies arrive, if you’re lucky, and I’ve enjoyed participating in a project to help them along. 
At my own back door this week, look who stopped by!
The luna moth! This is a very poor photo, but I did not want to flash camera light at this lovely creature. When it opens its wings, those two eyes really give you a stare – apparently it warns predators to stay away!
This is a very busy time of the year as neighbors return home from their summer places or journeys, and as birds migrate through, along with butterflies and the like, I have to remind myself to make time for the bike rides
and the glorious sunsets just a walk or bike ride away!
Jayne In Georgia 
Oh Jayne,
I’m sorry about the trees downed by “Her Meany”. I love trees and it always saddens me when one is lost. Your dahlia is beautiful. I’ve never tried growing them myself, but my friend lives on Bainbridge Island, WA and they are plentiful there. Those that grow them often have big tubs of the flowers for sale on the roadside, using the honor system, you take a bundle or two and leave the appropriate money in a galvanized bucket!
Happy almost autumn.
Karen
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Oh Karen! That is precisely what I did when I lived in CT, and the almost 100 dahlia plants began to burst into bloom. At first I put them out at the end of the drive in milk cartons that said FREE. But a neighbor soon convinced me to ask for $ on the honor system. She thought that only people who really wanted them would then stop. I charged a nominal amount and each time, I found an empty table, flowers gone to appreciative homes!
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So glad all is calm again, it must have been so worrying living through such a storm. Your moth and butterfly are so beautiful, nature has a way of bouncing back.
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Thank God everybody is OK. It brought back memories of my wonderful Mom evacuating in a station wagon with a handicapped husband, 2 labradors and 2 siamese cats. As I recall, Skidaway escaped the wrath of Hurricane Floyd and here in Pennsylvania, we were not prepared in the slightest and were hit horribly. Hermine retired at sea before getting to us. So sorry properties were hard hit at The Landings.
Your volunteering sounds interesting and your Dahlia is stunning!
Happy Fall Jayne!
ox
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Oh Linda, That must have been a hair raising escape! We have a “hurricane box” always at the ready for an evacuation, just in case, and most of the supplies are for the dogs! Hope you are doing well in PA!
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Glad to see your success with the dahlia… and your safe passage through Hermine. It’s about time for you to sit back and relax in cooler temperatures and I’m a bit jealous 😉
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The temperatures do moderate, but dont envy the STUFF that falls from the trees almost non-stop year round. Right now, the hickory nuts and the date palms are falling. There are leaves or nuts or berries to clean up, always!
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