A Definite Lack Of Pissyness Was Felt Today

Oh boy! Hang on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen, because today is going to be a wild ride!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
I lied. 
And not to needlessly segue but I have to tell you that when Disney World shut down Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, I was sorrowful. I still am. I guess no one reads The Wind in the Willows anymore which is a damn shame. 
Actually, today has had its very nice moments. To begin with, it has really and truly felt like fall. Not so much temperature-wise although it hasn't gotten above ninety degrees, but the humidity is down to almost 50% which makes a huge difference. And it's also the light. The way the light falls as the earth's axis begins its tilt away from the sun. I couldn't describe that accurately if I tried but I viscerally know it when it happens. And the hurricane lilies- of course. They know it's fall. A sure and visual sign.

The pecan leaves which are the last to appear and the first to go are dropping, swirling in the breezes which are also stronger. Another tell. And who knows what I subconsciously register after all the autumns I've experienced? 
Our seasons are not nearly as delineated as those of a lot of the world but we can feel them. They are subtle but they are real. 

And I've had a good day doing just the regular things people do. I decided to make use of the slight change in the weather by finally getting my collard seeds in the ground. 

I dug up some compost and took it to the garden and made two shortish trench rows (crooked, of course) and filled them with the stuff which surprisingly does not smell bad at all. In fact, it almost had a rather pleasant odor. I covered that up and patted it down and planted the little black, round seeds that all the cruciferous greens have over the small attempt at soil enrichment. When I plant these seeds, I always think of the Bible verse that tells us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. 
And I always think, "I wish."
What I wish for are good crops of collards and mustard greens, kale and turnips. Last year's greens were a huge disappointment. I plan on utilizing more fertilizer of the organic sort this year and see if that helps. I know that one of our problems is that the trees which cast shade on the garden have grown ever-taller and broader since we started gardening here, and so the necessary number of hours of direct sun has been cut dramatically. 
Well. We do what we can do. 
I need to get the lettuces in too. The arugula I planted is, of course, dancing merrily into elementary school age size, strong and green. I'm not sure anything can interfere with its desire to live and grow.
I turned on the sprinklers which cover the part of the garden I planted the collards in and so that, at least, is done. And I did not once feel as if I might die of the heat. 
I will be pulling the pumpkin vines soon. For real. They have mostly done their job. I have harvested six pumpkins and have at least two more I will cut from their mother vines soon. 

The mushrooms in the picture at the top are growing in my backyard between two of the crow-feeding stumps. They are probably five to six inches across. 

I am no mycologist by any means whatsoever but these giants have intrigued me. 

What if they are some sort of delicious gourmet mushroom? 
So I searched that shit up (haha!) and it would appear that they are false parasol mushrooms. The real parasol mushrooms are indeed prized for their taste. The false ones won't kill you but from what I've read, you might wish they had because the gastric reaction to them is quite intense. And painful. And uncomfortable. 
Oh well. I can enjoy them for their beauty. 

I did not make the gumbo I was thinking I would. It's not a difficult thing to make but it's time consuming and I just did not feel like it. Instead, I decided on the old stand-by, shrimp salad, and honestly that takes just about as much time and effort as gumbo. 
Sigh. 
I've also made a bread dough that I know is going to bake up dense and brick-like. I believe I will tell Mr. Moon that it is from an heirloom recipe for peasant oat cake. That'll work, right? I mean, heirloom seeds and plants are greatly valued these days. Why not...peasant oat cake?

Mr. Moon's friend's condition has not improved. 
I don't feel as if I have the necessary information or authority to discuss this further but it is very much affecting my husband. 

We never know, we never know. 

What I do know is that I was moved to stop and just look and listen and feel today while outside. To feel the changes, to see the changes, to hear what the birds have to say about it all. I swear, I can hear the difference in the air. I did not tell myself to do this. I was just aware that I should. It struck me as all being quite beautiful and I was grateful. 

Love...Ms. Moon