It’s the time of year when I go into the garden and get high on the aromas coming from the earth and the air. My immediate impulse is to take pictures of all the plants and trees that are making me love them and making me happy. I get them uploaded and find out that actually nothing looks that great: shriveling tomato vines with rotting fruit and flies underneath; weeds mixed in with the leaves blown in from the neighbors; redwood branches cluttering the surface and bottom of the swimming pool.
Around here, the excitement is coming through the senses other than the visual. Just taking some time to skim the debris 
from the pool somehow feels fallish to me, and is very relaxing, as I listen to the blip-blip of the water, and make things tidier there. Even though the afternoons have been hot, you can tell that it’s not summer, maybe because the rays of the sun are coming at a slant so the heat is less direct.
At the market, I’m back to the visual; heaps of pumpkins look extravagant and appropriate, signifying the abundance coming from the farms. From the highway I can see fields of corn, some of which will be carved out with paths to make a maze for the schoolchildren to wander through. And on my kitchen counter fields of tomatoes look normal for this time of year.
For many years I’ve made a habit of buying a pumpkin or two, to put on our front step, but this year I’m restraining myself. They never look as nice when I separate them from the crowd where they seem to belong, especially when squeezed into a corner on the concrete by the door. I’m not p
repared to spend a bundle to buy a crowd of them with which to make a mountain on our dead lawn, though this would be the year of opportunity!
So this time, I will enjoy looking at the piles at the stores — or on Pinterest. To add to our tomato decor I bought some pomegranates, which fit better in our space, and turned out to be much more economical.
But wait — I’m not going to forsake pumpkins altogether. My favorite market didn’t have any little pie pumpkins today, but soon I will find some and invest in a couple of them so that I can have the best fruit for cooking up a pie or bread like DIL Joy brought us last weekend. That’s the way to turn a visually pleasing pumpkin into an olfactory autumn event. Mmm-mm.
Kate brought me the most amazing tea from Istanbul. I keep sniffing it and trying to discern what all those exotic smells are — no label tells me anything about it. And I’m kind of afraid to make a pot of tea and end up disappointed, because you know how herbal teas often don’t taste as good as their dry aromas lead you to expect? It Well, what do I expect, after all that watering down…
But when I do take the plunge, I will drink it out of this new mug I gifted myself with. Big mugs, preferably those that hold a pint, are my favorites, but they usually aren’t so girly looking. When I saw this big and flowery one, there was little deliberating.
ess.
Gladsome Lights 