Back to "Normal"

The decorations have been taken down, the tents have been removed, the leftover food has been tossed onto the compost pile, and the last of our guests have left...some sense of normalcy has returned to the old homestead.  I was expecting (dreading) a few days of post-holiday blues; the crash after the whirlwind and excitement. But the blues didn't materialize; just an overwhelming sense of gratitude that we have such marvelous friends and family, lots of recounting of funny and heartfelt moments from the weekend festivities, and perhaps a small sense of relief that the "big event" is over and we can now focus our energy and attention on enjoying what is left of the summer and preparing for our favorite time of year -- fall!

The last couple of evenings and mornings have been very cool -- jeans and hoodie cool -- and I felt a touch of late September in the air when I went out to tend to animals this morning.  The morning light is softer, the grass dew-covered and the sun languidly arrives around 5:30am, rather then 5.  Not perfect weather for my warmth-loving veggies such as tomatoes and peppers, but I find it difficult to complain.  I love fall mornings, even in late July.  But I've no doubt these cool temps are temporary and we will see a few more 80 degree days before the summer departs (although I have to say this has been a remarkably cool July with many days in the 70s) .

The vegetable garden is looking full and lovely with splashes of color from the borage, calendula, marigolds, zinnias and chamomile.  The beans are harvested daily, and I pulled some delicious looking carrots and beets from the garden the other day.  The squashes and cucumbers are also coming in.  It's hard to believe that it's already time to plant the fall crops.  If these cool evenings persist, they'll be blooming in no time.