Bittersweet

It's a bittersweet time of year - literally.  The vibrant red-orange of bittersweet berries brings a pop of color to the subdued late-autumn landscape and to our home.  I can't resist having a fall bouquet of bittersweet on our dining room table. I'm always grateful when one of my country-living friends shares her bittersweet bounty with us.  It's also a bittersweet time of year more figuratively as we transition to the hush of winter.  A part of me longs for summer's green lushness and the bold spectrum of flower colors.  I saw some brave pink petunias still blooming in a planter this morning and our sedums -- mavericks that they are -- are stubbornly hanging on till a serious blast of winter quiets them down.  We're in a constant act of bringing the outdoors in at our house. Curly willow, gourds, pine cones, acorns and stones litter nearly every surface.  Soon, evergreens, red dogwood, winterberry and more pine cones will accessorize every room.  How glorious that Nature provides us with such beautiful gifts!