Mums

 Planted these mums several years ago.  The first year we experimented with over-wintering them.  It seemed to work and I've been diligent about repeating the process every year.  

It's always a risk - whether the weather will allow them to bloom.  Sometimes they freeze before fully flowering.  Other times they might bloom for a day or two and then freeze. This year the stems have gotten quite "leggy" so they kind of fall over.  But the happy yellow color has delighted my eyes for a couple weeks now.  Last night it got down to low 30's and I expected them to be pretty ugly this morning.  So far, not a problem.  But the cold will last, the blooms will fade and drop and I'll be out there trimming them to the ground, covering them with mulch and telling them to have a nice nap, that I'll be looking forward to their prettiness next year.

Was asked the other day what my favorite color was.  And frankly I couldn't narrow it down to just one.  But these yellow mums rank up there pretty close to the top.

So grateful to have enjoyed them for more than a day or two this year.  So grateful to have been invited to lunch the other day, though at times I felt like a fifth wheel because the other women are obviously more close to each other than with me.  But at least I was invited.  And grateful for furnaces that are working just fine so far this year.  We needed them overnight.