? ? 
Are these scenes from my garden this past summer? No, I took these photos yesterday afternoon. It’s strange enough to have salvias and zinnias still blooming in my yard on the last day of October without adding a Red Admiral butterfly and honeybees to the equation.
The median date for the first fall frost in Madison is September 28th. We are now a month beyond that and still going. It’s not unusual to have pleasant days in October and sometimes November, but usually we get a frost or a freeze in there somewhere as temperatures swing wildly up and down.
In previous years my garden would’ve been cleaned up weeks ago, but this year something always seems to be taking advantage of the plants and I don’t have the heart to pull them out. At first it was hummingbirds, then Goldfinches and Chickadees, and now bees and butterflies.
My garden’s days may be finally numbered, however. The forecast for next week calls for highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. I’ll believe it when I see it. For now, I’m leaving my garden as is because I never know who may stop by.