I woke up this morning, and I stepped outside like I do first thing almost every morning, and was struck by the chill in the air. It is still hot and sticky most of the time around here, but some mornings, and some evenings, I am reminded about how close the end of summer is.
The apples on our tree are not very big but they are turning red. This tree is nearing the end of its producing life sadly, but it still pushes out so much fruit. We used to eat from it for so many years, our neighbors did, people from all over our neighborhood would snag an apple. Kids played hide and seek under our tree, squirrels and birds have used it as a haven, and the cat next door sleeps in the violets, in the shade underneath on warm summer days. We even had baby possums under there one year. The tree is looking sad these days, and we need to decide what to do. I think we will just trim it back very hard in hopes of healing it some, and that will take a few years in itself, since you can’t do too much at once. At this point, I just want it to thrive but it doesn’t have to feed everyone anymore. It can take a break. It has done its job.
There are other signs too – the dandelions that are left are mostly gone to fluff, night comes a wee bit earlier. But there are still a few weeks left to hang on to that summer feeling. To eat fresh produce from the farmers market and gardens, to swim in pools and lakes and oceans, to take a summer vacation before school begins. To sip iced drinks outside with friends, listening to birds and counting caterpillars on the rue and the milkweed, and watch the swifts and hummingbirds dip in and out of the yard.
I am hoping to do a few things with Wyatt before we start school next month. Next month he also starts back to physical therapy, the first after his surgery, and he will go two days a week. Our newly renamed and reorganized group, from Scouts to the Blackbirds, begins next month, school, things will be busy. I don’t want to just skip these last few weeks, although we do need to keep things easy and light for now.
Today is my niece Mermaid Girl’s birthday. Like Wyatt, she is now 10! She is the sweetest kid, thoughtful, fiercely protective of her little sister and of Wyatt, wildly creative and imaginative, and a yellow belt in karate so watch out! We are going there tonight for cake and ice cream and it will be good to get out, all of us together, for something fun. Their garden is full of cucumbers and tomatoes right now, and my youngest niece loves to “help” her mother pick the vegetables, although she does not discern between ripe or not. I stopped over the other night to pick up some extra rue for my the black swallowtail caterpillars I saved from the birds in our yard, and little one was racing around helping garden. I left with more than rue – in fact the handful of gifts I left with courtesy of that little elf made me think of this limbo time, the transition between summer and fall. A few tiny green tomatoes, a few ripe, with an acorn or two thrown in for good measure.
And that is it from me today. Just some short ramblings. I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 