Every year, the changing of the seasons creates cause for celebration. Spring flowers. Summer abounds. Fall flames. Winter sparkles.

Glory be to God for dappled things –

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;

And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

“Pied Beauty”—Gerard Manley Hopkins

I’d try to say it better, but for lack of words, I borrow liberally.

First frost on October 9th had us gathering the last of our garden bounty and finding ways to eat tomatoes in all their glory: egg sandwiches, Brazilian fish stew (moqueca), fried green with white sauce. The parm substituting green tomatoes for eggplant and making sauce from ripe reds goes without record due to gobbling them unapologetically.

Michael cleaned our new chimney on October 5th, with my help. I climbed onto the roof TWICE, which tells you how much I love that man. My bad knees don’t like stepping off ladders and getting up on slanted surfaces. I admit to uncontrollable shakes during this process. No photos of the magnificent view due to said tremors.