One great use of a garden is for reading, particularly in the afternoon, when the day's work is done (or has been put off).

This year I put a bench in a spot that gets the last afternoon sunlight.

Today I cut it pretty close, but it was warm enough to sit out there even without direct sunlight. Not much of that in the future, though.  Fall is well on its way in New England. Yes, that is a bathtub Mary peeking out from behind the bench. She came with the house, and for quite a while has been in the front yard. I'm redoing that (slowly), but we don't have the heart to completely banish her, so for now, she blesses us from the back corner of the garden.

The book is Quo Vadis, by Henryk Sienkiewicz, perhaps the first great global bestseller, and a template for the portrayal of ancient Rome and early Christians on film. I'll write more on it in the future.

When sitting on my bench Monday afternoon (I had Columbus Day off, a rare treat), this was the view to my right:

And this to my left:

These shots are concealing how small my yard really is.  But you can see how autumnal it's becoming.