Summer is over. Every day it seems like the evening darkness comes as swiftly as those cartoon nights where a curtain falls and instantly turns day to night. The temperatures are dropping as well and whether we like it or not, we’re reminded that winter is on its way.

But as I look around my garden I realize that it’s still filled with the abundance of the growing season. So why are we all prone to focusing on the coming of winter instead of the beauty that surrounds us right now? We need a way to focus on the present moment and the beauty that we have not what might or might not happen in the future.

I suggest that a quick, easy and pleasureable way to do this is to pick a small bouquet every day. A flower here, some leaves there, an sprig of herb or stick with a seed pod. A few stems gathered and put together in a small vase or tied with a piece of twine or ribbon. A bouquet of appreciation every day, as a means of savoring the season.

Put these on your kitchen counter, a window sill, the dashboard of your car, or the desk in your office. Or give them to a total stranger on the street, in the bank, or at the grocery store.

Pick your bouquet every day and take a photo. Post it on Facebook, Twitter, or send it via email to your friends. Spread the word: #abouqueteveryday

A dahlia, sage leaves, annual blue salvia and a stem from my Vitex shrub is what I used in my first bouquet, gathered on September 27th.