At home for the day, before heading back to our retreat. I brought a touch of the bay back with me, a few small pieces of driftwood. In the garden I collected a few fading summer flowers to use. Everything except the driftwood is still fresh. I cut a branch of maple from the tree on our sidestreet, removed all the green leaves to show the seedpods. The sunflower had already lost it’s blooms and is beginning to go to seed. Pink hydrangea that has faded to green is the last element. Summer is rapidly ending and the glorious colors of fall await.