Tuesday

A beautiful but stinky morning!

I step outside just as the sun pushes its first rays over the horizon. Ribbons of mist settle over the fields to the east of us. It's cold! 

I've been given instructions to move the car and I see that there is the smallest hint of frost on the windshield. Nothing that will kill off the annuals yet, but it is a warning: we are just at the edge of a huge seasonal change. (With a deep frost, the landscape at the farmette will be transformed.)

For now though, I'm still thinking about what plants to bring indoors for the winter. I dont have enough hours of sunlight on the windowsill to keep them vibrant, and yet what there is will produce a constant, if wimpy, bloom all winter long. And when I take the plant out again come spring, it springs to life! So, which one? 

Our septic system is to be cleaned out this morning. This happens maybe once in a handful of years. Basically two people using the toilet and one of them being committed to a bidet (did you read that article in the Washington Post yesterday imploring everyone to switch to a bidet? Ed feels so vindicated!) doesn't provide much fodder for the system. The cats, upon seeing the big truck roll in, scatter to high heaven. The hens, on the other hand, hover with curiosity. 

But what I really smell is the visit of a skunk. This is never good news. Skunks want our chickens. And at least one of the cats has been known to wage war with the smelly predator. You could say that the cat won the war but lost the battle. (Thankfully it was not a cat that comes in for farmhouse visits).

Breakfast, with two reminders of earlier travels (candle scent, honey). These are the kind of souvenirs I can live with!

And then I work. In the garden. And on small projects that got pushed aside for lack of time. Eventually, Ed is ready for a walk and I coax him into an Arboretum hike. Once a season! -- I tell him.

For us, the Arboretum is a place of two extremes: on the one hand, it is stunningly beautiful. Now, perhaps more than ever.

It's a vast space, with open fields, studded with magnificent trees...

And, too, there is a forest with trails that are just lovely.

Except that...

Well, it abuts the Beltline -- our highway that circumnavigates our city to the south. In spite of the vastness of the Arboretum lands, the noise of the traffic never quite goes away. You can never have what we love so much about forest walks: total quiet. So yes, it was splendid and beautiful and the weather was absolutely fabulous...

But he knew, and I knew that we'd probably wait another couple of months before we'd rush back.

At home, I bike a little in our neighborhood. Laugh all you want: it was for the rings! (And for the warmth of an October sun, and the views in the fields, and the feeling of being transported elsewhere!)

Supper? Well, leftovers. Cheesy, tomatoey, farro. With a freshly poached egg on top and a salad at the side. 

Tomorrow I honestly will at least attempt to cook something new. Maybe!

with love...