HAPPY EQUINOX!

 

Song for Autumn by Mary Oliver 

Don't you imagine the leaves dream now

    how comfortable it will be to touch

the earth instead of the

    nothingness of the air and the endless

freshets of wind? And don't you think

    of trees, especially those with

mossy hollows, are beginning to look for

 

the birds that will come—six, a dozen—to sleep

    inside their bodies? And don't you hear

the goldenrod whispering goodbye,

    the everlasting being crowned with the first

tuffets of snow? The pond

    stiffens and the white field over which

the fox runs so quickly brings out

    its long blue shadows. The wind wags

its many tails. And in the evening

    the piled firewood shifts a little,

longing to be on its way. 

꩜ 

It was a typical afternoon with lots of feeder action and Big Blue calling for peanuts. He likes to either go on the big birch limb or on top of the shepherd's crook before jumping off and dropping down on his target. Here, he's joined by a BigTail who is enjoying a drink:

LG is starting to tap on the slider screen when he wants peanuts but sees that I am on the couch. Our Diner patrons do let us know when they'd like to order—another happy customer:

For our feast, I made salads featuring homegrown cherry toms and fougasse to accompany:
 

Fougasse is a leavened flatbread from southern France similar to the Italian Focaccia. This particular recipe was a real bear, being a high hydrated dough which made it difficult to handle. The flavoring is from herb de provence in the dough, rosemary and flaky sea salt on top and olive oil. C's had chopped olives in the dough. They were quite tasty: crispy outside and soft inside. It was served with one of my best finds: plant-based Boursin garlic and herb cheese. I get it at Trader Joe's.

Buddy came in after supper and joined us by the Tube. He greatly enjoyed some blissful belly rubs from his Mum.