Summer Became the Fall

It's a beautiful Indian summer day - if you allow me to be politically incorrect and use a term from my youth - and a great day to work in the garden. It may be almost 80 out, but autumn is progressing in the garden and, in the process, is providing for the wintering creatures in the yard.
The blueberry plants we put in this spring are completely cloaked in their fall color. Multiply this by the hundreds, and add a yellow canopy of trees, and you have sections of the northwestern New Jersey forest in just a couple weeks.

The switchgrass has a cloud of burgundy seedheads atop the blue foliage. I'm wondering who will eat the seeds this winter. Lots of people cut off seed heads to make the garden look neater, but seed heads can provide interest in the winter - make the garden look less sterile - and you never know who is getting welcome nourishment from your garden "mess."
The Joe-pye weed has traded its mauve flowers for the fluff of seed heads.
The garden is still providing people food this time of year. This is a flower on the sweet potatoes. The foliage is starting to yellow, which is an indication that the harvest is nearing.
I wish smell could be transferred via blog, because this harvest of basil has my kitchen smelling divinely. It's really important to harvest basil before even a light frost, because they are reduced to a black mush in cold temperatures. I'll wash these on the stem and hang them to dry. They store well in an airtight bag or plastic container.

It's time to get some mums for the front of the house and enjoy the remaining few weeks of tomatoes. We will put in the winter rye and plant next year's garlic in just a month. For now, though, I'm going to enjoy the warmth of the early fall sun and pretend winter will never come!