See ya, September

Fall, glorious early Fall, has finally arrived in this part of the world. We will, of course, still have the occasional hot early afternoon here and there, but summer is definitely done. These past couple of weeks temperatures dropped into the high 50s at night, and going to work in the slightly chilly pre-dawn has been heavenly, especially after the summer we just had. Afternoon highs have been in the 80s. Wonderful weather.

Gregg is doing much better. Today he went back to work (he does all his aquarium jobs on Wednesdays) after a two-week absence. He wasn't supposed to lift anything heavy until he got the dentist's approval, but now he's cleared for it. He still hates the temporary dentures, but the pain is mostly gone and he's adjusting to them. The first of the year can't get here soon enough, though. Once the healing is complete and he can get the implants, things will be so much better. (Or better be, considering how much money we've spent).

Speaking of the dentist, last week I had to have a filling and a crown prep on one of my back molars. The cavity ended up being much deeper than it looked on the x-ray, and it took two hours to finish the work. Since then, I've had some harsh nerve pain on that side of my jaw, bad enough that Dr. Thomas called in a very low dose of a steroid for me to tame the inflammation. It's a little better, thank goodness, because if it doesn't resolve soon they'll start talking about a root canal. The dental practice has been making bank on us this month! Oh, well. I remind myself regularly how fortunate we are that we can afford all this expensive care. 

In other news, George and Poppy were both having terrible skin allergy flares and nothing seemed to be helping. Then the other day, I finally figured out why. Fleas!!! I couldn't believe it! I was horrified. We've never had a flea issue before. Since the dogs live inside and don't go out in the yard all that much, it just never occurred to me to look for them. * Now that I think about it, I'll bet I know where the problem comes from:

Yes, we're still feeding two of the (almost grown up) wild kittens that the mama cat left behind.  And look up in the right-hand corner of that photo: they've started bringing a friend. The orange tabby wasn't in the original litter, but he knows a good thing when he sees it. Sigh.

We were dumb to ever start feeding stray cats. Sooner or later we're going to have to do something before they start to multiply. And now they're probably bringing in fleas, too! We knew better but couldn't stand to see them without food or fresh water, and now they show up twice a day like clockwork for their Meow Mix. Gregg and I are such suckers, I swear. 

I have to admit that I really like them, though. This little girl is my favorite. She's the bravest of the three and when I walk out with food she rolls around on the ground in front of me and tries to look as cute as possible.

  I wish I could find someone great to take her. **

My plans for a fall garden haven't come to anything. September has ended up being so busy with all the dental drama that I just haven't had any motivation. Here's one thing my garden did produce last week, though:

My David Austin roses have proven to be troopers, even in terribly hot, dry summers. I've been so pleased with them! And isn't this Eustacia Vye blossom a beauty? There are several more buds about to pop that I'll be cutting and bringing indoors over the next couple of weeks. I may not have gotten many tomatoes this summer, but I'm still cutting roses into the beginning of October and that's something, at least.

*I hightailed it straight to the vet and bought expensive flea medicine that killed all the wee bastards within twelve hours. I don't mess around when it comes to fleas. Nope, nope, nope.

** Between our dogs (who want to chase and eat cats), our bird, and my allergies, there's no way we can really adopt her or any of the others. I need to start actively looking for homes for them. At this point I'd even pay for the spaying/neutering if someone decent would adopt them and take them off our hands.

First taste of fall

So this happened yesterday.

Hurricane Idalia was much diminished by the time it came over our area, and while we got a lot of rain (over 6 inches) there was very little harm done. What it did seem to do was blow out the hot, stagnant summer air and herald the arrival of our first taste of fall. Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, with cool temperatures, low humidity, and bright blue skies. It seemed like a good afternoon to clean up the garden bed, which had gone to utter ruin in the last part of August. My husband was kind enough to lend a hand, so it didn't take long at all.  

One last gleaning of peppers and cherry tomatoes: goodbye to my summer 2023 garden.

Another harvest is just beginning, though. The pomegranate is loaded with ripening fruit for the first time ever right now. I'm truly excited for these.

One of the banana plants finally has a bloom! Although these won't produce any fruit, the flowers are pretty enough to make growing them worthwhile just for their sake. 

It's Labor Day weekend and the forecast is for beautiful weather. It's very welcome after the long, hot summer, and a nice way to kick off September. The extra day off on Monday is very welcome, too.

Finally, September

Maybe it's just me, but this August seemed like the longest month ever. I blame work stress; a lot of teachers and other staff members have told me they feel the same way this year. In any case, I'm so happy that September has finally arrived! No matter what the temperatures are like, once September begins it seems like fall to me. 

I've been waiting on Tom to make his annual comment about "mists and mellow fruitfulness" but unless I've missed it (which is possible) then I've beaten him to it!

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
  Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
  With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
  And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
    To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
  With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
    For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
  Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
  Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
  Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
    Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
  Steady thy laden head across a brook;
  Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
    Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
  Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
  And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
  Among the river sallows, borne aloft
    Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
  Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
  The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
    And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

-John Keats

Now I'm in the mood for changing leaves, cool nights, camping trips, soups and chili instead of salads and grilled meats, and mountain apples arriving in the farmers' markets. Speaking of apples, this showed up on my Facebook "memories" from four years ago today:

My first (and so far, only) attempt at making baked apple roses. I wasn't entirely satisfied with how they ended up looking, but they tasted great! I think slicing the apples thinner before wrapping them in pastry would result in a prettier rose shape; maybe I'll try making them again later this month. It was fun to do. 

Another thing to like about September is that it's time to start decorating with things like pumpkins, gourds, colorful dried ears of corn, and those ubiquitous flowers of autumn here in the south: mums. The farm stand I like to visit (it's only two miles from my house) just got in their first shipment of them yesterday.

Of course, lots of flowers do well around here during our slow, long, mild South Carolina autumn. Even roses often rebloom (after the awful summer heat subsides) this time of year.

Next week middle school and high school football resume. Although I couldn't care less about the actual sport of football, there's something about a game that stirs old, old sense memories of growing up for me. The sound and feel and smell of a football stadium on a chilly autumn night. Bright lights, school band playing, climbing up high to the top of the bleachers for the best view, the smell of popcorn and nachos, then the excitement when the game starts and the announcer calls the plays. My house is close enough to one of the high schools that we can faintly hear the distant sound of the home games while they're going on. It always makes me smile.  Also, in the five years that I've worked at a middle school, I've occasionally stayed late to watch one of our team's home games. It's a fun seasonal activity to do occasionally, like watching one of little Prophet's baseball games in the spring! 

What else? There's so much to like about the arrival of fall!  Since next Monday is Labor Day, there's a three-day weekend coming up. That's going to be a really welcome rest. Then at the beginning of next month we'll have a full week off for fall intercession. I'm really looking forward to that! 

What do you like about the arrival of September?

So long, September (don't let the door hit you on the way out!)

 

It's the last day of September and I, for one, am happy to see the end of it. It's wasn't a total bust as months go (I've definitely had worse!) but overall it was just one irritating thing after another. Here's a quick recap of some stuff that happened in September:

1. We finally, after two months of phone calls, text messages, and threats of small claims court, got our fence repaired. Remember the neighbor's landscapers who felled a tree that broke our fence? That happened back in July and it's taken this long to get it done. I was not a happy camper.
2. I screwed up a deposit at an ATM early in the month and it's taken all month, and several calls to the bank's customer service, to resolve. Oh, the pain. 
3. The puppy that we hoped to adopt ended up getting offered to us again when the person fostering her decided they didn't want a new puppy after all. We were upset by the way we were treated, and decided to decline. It's a good thing, too, because today that person finally got around to taking her to the vet and the puppy has parvo. 
4. Gregg's referral to a dermatologist for some mysterious itchy skin that his regular doctor couldn't diagnose yielded no answers. What it did yield, however, was a diagnosis of another spot of basal cell carcinoma on his face. He has to have it removed next month and he's dreading it. This makes the third one he's had in the last few years. Too much sun exposure on his fair skin in his youth, I suppose. 
5. Gregg's old work truck broke down again after we just spent over $1300 to replace the clutch. We were so stressed out at the prospect of spending even more money! Lucky for us, it was a faulty part and the repair place honored the warranty and did the next repair for free. But we had a week of sharing one car and aggravation over it all, and that was no fun. 
6. You all read about Marco's Great Outdoor Adventure last week. Enough said about that. 

There were other things, but I'll stop there. That's enough complaining! I've decided that October will be better. It's going to get off to a great start tomorrow afternoon--next week we're on fall break, and going back to school so early this summer will finally be paying off! After tomorrow I don't go back until October 11. I'm really, really, really grateful and looking forward to it!

September Daybook

Outside my window...

despite the heat that just refuses to abate, it's unmistakably the beginning of a new season. It's getting dark earlier at a rapid pace (as it does close to the equinox), the green of the leaves on the dogwood tree has taken on a golden tinge, and the sky is a deeper shade of blue today than it's been in several weeks.

I am thankful...

that even based on my small salary, we were able to get approved for a mortgage loan! Although our new home's deed will be in both our names, I'll be the only one carrying the loan. Gregg had a very good credit score before he had cancer, but after six years of never ending medical bills it's been impossible to keep it up. So I have the credit score needed to get the loan, but Gregg makes two thirds of our income. Since we can't claim what he earns if the loan is only in my name, I was afraid that my lesser salary wouldn't be enough. It turns out I was worried for nothing; we were approved for more than we plan to borrow! What a relief!

From the kitchen...

fresh eggs from the science teacher at work who has a tiny homestead farm, as well as fresh local honey from her beehives! She's a certified beekeeper and is also mentoring her 13 year old son, William, who is on track to be certified himself as soon as he turns 16 (the minimum age allowed by the Department of Agriculture). William is a student at our school and he's the one who's been selling me the honey:

Twice now we've had scrambled fresh eggs and biscuits with honey and butter for supper. Delicious!

I am reading...

...nothing much, at the moment. I've been so busy the last few weeks with a new school year starting and working on the house hunt that at the end of the day, instead of reading for an hour or so I just fall sound asleep, early. I've been tired!

I am hoping...

...to find the perfect house, soon! We keep finding little 1940's bungalows in the "historic" downtown area that really appeal to us both, although they usually need some work. But those older homes have really nice details that you never see these days, and the houses look like they were built when people didn't cut corners or use cheap crap for materials. One cute little house that just hit the market is priced well below what we're prepared to spend, and we could afford to really make it nice provided there aren't too many big repairs needed. We may to go see it next week after the Labor Day holiday.

I am thinking...

about all the things I need to get done in the next two weeks. I have two Guardian ad Litem children at the moment and two upcoming court dates for them. Both cases will probably be settled and I'll be relieved of my obligation to them, but in the meantime I need to visit both children and write reports for the court. I plan to tell the coordinator that I won't be able to take any new cases until after the new year--I just don't have the spare time this fall.

Around the house...

Gregg has taken down some of the smaller aquariums and we're collecting boxes to begin packing some of our things in preparation for finding a house and moving. I know it's awfully early, but any packing we do ahead of time we'll be thankful for later.

I am working...

...on staying consistent with counting calories and losing weight. I've had a lot of other things going on, but I'm determined not to backslide into old habits and to continue my forward momentum. I've lost over 30 pounds so far.

I am listening...

...to Marco talking to himself in the other room. He's been very talkative since I went back to work, probably because he misses the extra attention he got when I was home all day. The other morning I was putting a bowl of fresh food in his cage and he looked me in the eye and said, sweetly, "Love you..." Today he pulled out a large feather while preening, watched it fall to the floor, and shouted, "What?!" He's such a little card!

Celebrating the season....

It's Labor Day weekend and I'm thankful for the extra day off. Cookouts are traditional for this unofficial end of summer holiday, and we might throw a couple of hot dogs on the grill Monday afternoon. I'm looking forward to the coming of autumn and everything that that means: cooler weather, apples and spices, changing leaves, marigolds and mums, blue sky mornings and golden afternoons....

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
-   John Updike, September

"By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer."
-   Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885

Fall Plant and Flower Show

This weekend is the annual Pee Dee State Farmer's Market's annual fall plant and flower show. It's a great time to plant perennials in South Carolina, so there are lots of them for sale with vendors from all around the eastern part of the state. Of course, there are also fruits and vegetables for sale, and fair food, and crafts. It's usually a nice time. The weather is gorgeous this weekend and perfect for the show, so my mom came to visit and we went and had a look around. I took a few pictures to share.

Blue sky autumn day.

Cheerful fall wreaths!

There were so many pumpkins. 

Remember kids: all worm castings are NOT the same!

I ended up buying a pot of these marigolds (and a small pumpkin).

Perennials for sale.

I'm not sure what these flowers are, but they're very pretty!

Beautiful fresh beets and sweet potatoes.....

...and "country grapes" for $1.99/pd.

Speaking of country grapes...!

1. Apples from the mountains of North Carolina.

September's arrival

I'm enjoying the arrival of September in my part of the world. It's been a little bit cooler, a little less humid, and the dogwood trees are already beginning to show some very early color. I read an essay this morning about early September that I wanted to share with you. Of course it's by my favorite nature writer, Hal Borland. As always, he captures the mood of the season so beautifully!

September 2nd and 3rd

September

"September is the year at the turn, a young mother sending her children off to school and wondering if she can ever catch up with Summer tasks unfinished. It is Autumn at hand and Summer reluctant to leave; it is days loud with cicadas and nights loud with katydids; it is beets for pickling and pears for canning and apples for pies and sauce and cider. It is hot days and cool nights and hurricane and flood and deep hurt and high triumph.

September is both more than a month and less, for it is almost a season in itself. It is flickers in restless flocks, readying for migration; it is goldfinches in thistledown; it is fledglings on the wing, and half-grown rabbits in the garden, and lambs in the feed lot. It is the gleam of goldenrod and the white of lavender and purple of fence row asters, with the bright spangle of bittersweet berries.

September is fog over the river valleys at dawn and the creep of early scarlet among the maples in the swamp. It is bronze of hillside grass gone to seed. It is walnuts ripening and squirrels busy among the hickories. It is late phlox like a flame in the garden, and zinnias in bold color, and chrysanthemums budding. It is a last gallant flaunt of portulaca and petunias defying time and early frost.

September is the first tang of wood smoke and the smolder of burning leaves. It is bass and perch revitalized in the chilling waters of pond and stream. It is the hunter's dog sniffing the air and quivering to be off to the underbrush. September is time hastening and days shortening, it is the long nights of Autumn closing in with their big stars and glinting moon. September is the wonder and fulfillment and the ever-amazing promise of another Autumn."

Hal Borland

"Sundial of the Seasons"
September 1955

Water, Earth, Sky

It's a beautiful September day at my house.

Late September--seen and heard

Rain on the roof, lulling me to sleep.

Cool nights. Bright days.

Young squirrels playing in the back yard. Migratory birds passing through.

Pomegranate leaves turning golden.

Cardinals and House Sparrows bathing in rainwater puddles. Blue Jay rooting through fallen leaves.

Spiders and their webs tucked into corners, nooks, and crannies.

The last butterflies of the season.

Pumpkins and mountain-grown apples appearing at the market.

Loosening leaves fluttering with every touch of the wind.

Morning glories gone to seed.

Mellow afternoon light.