Changes

The coming of fall and cooler weather brings a new set of chores.  Things that had been left undone or done less often must be caught up.  During the extreme heat it wasn't worth my life to stay in the barn and clean stalls every day, so I had my work cut out for me yesterday after milking.  I made my apologies to the girls.  The leaf blower is charging now, so I know what the job will be today.  I've promised myself to stay ahead on that this year.  Or not.

It was cool enough to sit at the sunny end of the deck in the morning for a change.  The garlic chives (the only plants that Robert and Bobby haven't destroyed) are almost through blooming, but the bees still visit the flowers.  I wonder, as always, if orange blossom honey tastes of orange and lavender honey comes from those plants, what does garlic honey taste like?  Eeeuw.  The naked ladies (pink amaryllis) under the oak are also fading now.  They're always such a surprise, springing up out of plain dirt without benefit of green leaves.  Those will come later.

Like it or not, a trip to town for supplies was on the menu yesterday.  It was the first time in months that I didn't need the a/c in the truck and I didn't melt into the pavement as I made my stops.  Halloween candy on the shelves at Wally World was expected.  I've been checking the nursery section periodically, looking for African violets to replace those that, after all these years, succumbed to the heat and died this summer.  What I did not expect was to see Christmas trees in that department.  I think that's pushing the season a bit.  A shipment of violets had just come in and I bought two.  They are such happy flowers.

Cruising the aisles (it makes me a crazy person when stores change the shelves around and I can't go directly where things used to be), the thought of jambalaya came to me and Zatarain's makes a well-seasoned rice base.  Shrimp and kielbasa were also available.  It's definitely more fun to cook for and eat with someone, so I called Cam.  She'd been cleaning her barn all day and was ready for dinner; she was here in half an hour.

The seasons are definitely changing.  Six o'clock and no sign of dawn yet.  Sitting in a robe instead of sweltering is a welcome change.  I can deal with that.