I Think Autumn's Here

We had a lovely thunderstorm last night with lots of rolling crashes and flashing lightning and pouring rain.  Woohoo!  We need rain, buckets of it, to soak into the parched soil and, as much as I hate to say it, we need a snowy winter so that the farmers can survive and grow food for us.  I promise to grumble about snowblowing/shoveling only a little.  Cross my heart.  Speaking of autumn arriving, you know I've been knitting a scarf of our Maple Tree this year, a row a day, and I've been watching for the leaves to begin turning so I can shift away from the unrelenting GREEN that's been the main theme since, oh... April?, yeah, late April.  I looked at the tree when I went out for the paper this morning and it looked unchanged, then I looked closer.  See?  Just a couple of leaves, the vanguard, are bravely showing their true colors.  (kind of like I did at The Clearing last week)  Today's Photo a Day theme is "man-made" so first I took a picture of the three baby hats I've been knitting (and have to finish today because I need to deliver them tomorrow--eek).  It's... okay.  Then I took a picture of last night's prompt writing figuring that's something man (well, woman) made.  Meh.  Then inspiration hit.  Durwood spent all day yesterday processing his latest half-bushel of tomatoes (except for the remaining 6 he's making into juice today) and knew that should be the photo of the day.  Here's his 10 quarts of gorgeous, delicious tomato soup (see? MAN-made, I'm only a man in the general sense and that was tripping me up... literal, much, Barbara?), added to the 42 (42!!!) pints of tomato soup he made earlier this month, we shouldn't run out anytime soon.  He's also planning to use it as a basis for a winter's worth of tomato sauce for cooking.  I see chicken parm and other tomato-y goodies in my future.  A. Lot. Of. Them.  (pause for lip-smacking, also a bit of gandy-dancing because I get to eat it and you don't... oh, that wasn't nice *shrug* I'll deal with the personality flaw--over a bowl of soup *mwa-ha-ha-ha*... so not nice, Barbara Sue, shame on you)

September 20--Egypt, Female Head.  No one ever said Thuya was pretty.  Plain might have even been a compliment.  She went around with a little smile on her face, not just her lips, that made her look simple.  There were those that thought they could say anything in front of her.  Any gossip or rumor, any secret was safe to say in front of her because she wasn't smart enough to understand things let alone repeat them.  They were wrong.

It was her eyes, her blank eyes, that sent me down that path.  I hate those mild, smiley faced people; they scare me.  Happy solstice, y'all!
--Barbara Sue