Bittersweet

I think we're just days away from peak color around here.  The weather has been very hot, over eighty degrees during a time of year when it's supposed to be in the upper sixties.  I think a lot about climate change, though I keep it to myself.  It is a strange and fearful thing to see the earth's rhythms and patterns change in such weird, wild ways.  We get hot days and mild Winters, other places get wildfires and hurricanes.  These mountains are a wonderful shelter, but they are suffering under the drying, warming climate.

As a way to lift spirits under the weight of oppressive dampness, we collected some bittersweet vines on our morning walk and made wreaths.  They are a little messy, but they are so vibrant and easy to do.  Now our door and the door to the playhouse have cheerful adornments.

I made a few comments to a friend about how I thought the Winter would be another disappointment, like last year.  I was calling its bluff, really, and I got some interesting responses later in the evening.  Almost on cue, Roan discovered a completely black woolly bear caterpillar.  That's the usual sign for a bad Winter, which I would really love.  All the badness.  Snow me in.

Shortly afterward, the sky clouded over and rain began to fall.  It was a simple thing, but it was such a balm.  Today, we're going to Elk Garden to see what we can see.  I hope I'm under dressed.