I Can't Even Title This

The pine cone lilies are shooting up their stalks and the "cones" are forming nicely. The little buds you see there are the actual blooms, the flowers. In the next few weeks the bracts, the cones, will turn from green to scarlet. I honestly did not know what a bract was until I just looked it up. They are specialized leaves which sit below a flower, a flower cluster, or a stem. They come in all shapes and sizes. An artichoke, the part we eat, is a bract. 
Seventy-two years old and I did not know this most basic of botanical facts. 

I did know that these lilies are part of the ginger family. I have never used their roots for culinary purposes but I just read that they can be, although their taste is more pungent and bitter than the kind we buy in the store. Still, I might try it sometime. 
I have never been a forager but I admire those who have the knowledge, eye, and skill to practice that art. The only thing I can really say I've ever picked from the wild to ingest with the exception of berries are mushrooms of the psilocybin variety and that I have indeed done. Luckily, they are easy to identify and since they grow out of cow shit, or at least the ones in Florida do, there's that as an identifier too. 
I often wonder who the first person was in Central Florida who introduced us to these mushrooms. All I know is that suddenly, there were...mushrooms. We did not call them "shrooms" and we didn't call them "magic" mushrooms as far as I can remember. Cow pastures were everywhere in Central Florida where I was living then as they are in most of the state. Before long, everyone was out gathering the mushrooms. The authorities (to be respectful) took awhile to catch up on what was happening and for awhile, it was pretty darn easy to hop a fence and gather them. I think for some time they weren't even illegal because they had not been classified as a drug yet. 
Oh, the good old days. 
I've written about my first experience with mushrooms before (what have I NOT written about at this point?) and you can find one of those posts here. 
There's a lot I could say about the powerful and often incredibly healing experience of ingesting psychedelic substances but Michael Pollan, a very fine author and journalist wrote what I consider to be one of the best books on the subject and that book is entitled How To Change Your Mind.
I have written about that, too, of course, and recommend it highly if the subject interests you. 

Dear god, how did I get here? 
From pinecone lilies to psilocybin mushrooms and beyond. 
My mind is a wandering, wondering fool of a mind. 

I took a mostly restful day today. Being as it is Sunday, Mr. Moon and I had our regular date-day which basically means we both took it easy and loved on each other a lot. It seems silly to schedule a day for such sweet attentions but just because you have an empty nest, it does not mean you take the time to focus on your love. We become complacent about such things sometimes, taking each other for granted, not stopping to truly appreciate each other. And forgetting to tell each other how much the other means to us. 
Kisses don't hurt either. 
Mr. Moon spent most of the day shucking scallops. I am not kidding you. And yes, that can be a part of date day. 

As I said in a response to a comment on yesterday's post, when you figure in the effort it takes to find and collect these delicacies (and that's the fun and easy part), the gas for the boat, and mostly the hours and hours of shucking required, it makes whatever they charge for them a bargain. 
But as with the garden and the food we eat from it, there is another kind of reward to the whole thing and that is what makes it all worthwhile. Tonight I'll be simply sautéing some of them with butter, garlic, and a little bit of lemon juice and serving them over pasta, and making a salad. A shallot might be involved if I get all crazy with it or maybe I'll just go as basic as I can and let the scallops be the stars and supporting cast of the meal. The salad will be utterly simple too. I might toast some of the bread I made a few days ago, trying to recreate and improve on the bread I made before with the oats, the flax seed, the cottage cheese, etc. It turned out pretty nicely if you don't mind a heartier texture to your bread which I do not. 
And that will be that. 
Here are some roses.

They are putting forth another bloom. These old heirlooms never quit. Not entirely. The late-ish summer garden is not as exciting as the spring or even fall garden with their quick promises of what's to come but even as some things brown and become brittle, other things continue to produce, albeit in a far less dramatic way. Mr. Moon keeps telling me that we can still plant okra and tomatoes and I'm fine with that. Let's do it! But today when he told me we could plant one more crop of green beans I vehemently said, "No!" I love my green beans and I was so grateful for them but I have picked and cooked and processed all I care to pick, cook, or process until next year. 
I think he was a little shocked at my immediate response but I am quite certain of how I feel about this. I have plenty of canned green beans and pickled green beans to last us and other family members until the next planting. 
Thank you, but no. 
Sometimes too much is just enough but sometimes too much is just too much. 

Would you look at this? 

Five pounds of scallops according to my granddaddy's scale if you figure in the weight of the bowl. And that scale may be old as hell but it is still pretty accurate. 

I guess I better go cook some scallops. 

Love...Ms. Moon