We experienced another first with my son last night.  We went to a poetry slam, this one held under the stars (well, cloud-covered moon) at Ijams Nature Center.  It was a perfect, beautiful evening, not hot or cold.  There was a fire, people dressed in Halloween costumes, a food truck, and craft beer.  There was a lot more comedy than I was expecting, but also some serious poetry, including Avdi’s.  Before it started, I took some photos of the park and old greenhouse.  All in all, a great experience.  Then my son spent the night at our place.

My oldest granddaughter and her boyfriend paid a surprise visit to my son while on a camping trip, so we (Avdi, other g-daughter D, E, and I) all got together at Schulz Bräu Brewing Co. for beers and a fun reunion.  It was really good to see Lily again after two years, and to meet her friend and dog.

Today as is our custom, my son came over to work, share our erev meal, and hang out.  It started out very cold, but by midday it was beautiful and warm out, and he set up on the back porch to work and enjoy the outdoors.  It’s gratifying to be able to provide him with a conducive space to think and have access to Knoxville.

It’s getting a bit nippy out now, what Southerners probably refer to as “freezing”.  So far I’ve been able to keep the house relatively warm through clever solar light adjustment and addition of clothing layers.  And still most of the trees are green, just shedding a few brown leaves.  I’m still harvesting peppers, and the fall/winter greens I planted are thriving.  I guess folks with fireplaces will be firing up soon.  It’s different, down here.

Meanwhile, feline turf wars, well, pussy standoffs, continue, as Not-Our-Kitty defends her house and porch from marauding invaders, i.e. the extremely friendly black cat from next door.  I feel sorry for him, but he’s obviously well-fed.  As is “ours”.  She must be an Aquarius; she sucks up copious quantities of water in any form, from the faucet, buckets of rainwater, saucers, as long as it’s clean.  She’s very particular about her food and drinks.

Here are some early morning flowers and black cat.

I guess we’ve been pretty busy, so here’s a catch-up post.

E has been hard at work reconstructing and reinforcing the former deck.  In between heavy rains, I planted the rest of the pines and plants from my son’s out in the “grassland prairie”.  Yesterday we explored new (to us) antique/vintage stores in search of home items, and E created a new wood curtain rod and hung new drapes for our laundry room sliding door.

Slowly but surely our little oasis is coming together.  Having very limited funds causes us to be more creative, thrifty, and resourceful, using found/repurposed materials.  “Not-our-kitty” has pretty much made herself at home here.

Now that the kitty sleeps in bed every night, does that make her official?  I still haven’t named her, though.  At sunrise she and I go outside to chase critters and take photos, respectively.  She follows me all over the yard like a dog.  I’m the cat whisperer.

Here are: yummy cornbread by E, sunrise and flowers after rain, and lounge-cat.

Finally, I can work outside without being broiled to death!

Yesterday was a beautiful, cool day to mulch the new trees, lay down more marble gravel for drainage around the foundation, prep my herb beds for additional plantings, and other yard work.  Camo-cat “helped”.  The changing autumn sunlight brings out flower highlights and shadow play.

Today it’s back to raining, which works for me and my tree babies.  Most of the trees are still green, which I’m not used to; the changes here are so gradual.  Whereas the temps flick on and off suddenly like a switch.

Just after sunrise, I was outside taking photos, when I noticed the largest possum I’ve ever seen crossing the field and running full speed along the top of our fence into the big holly.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch it with this excuse for a camera, but it was impressive.  I’ve tried to capture the way the light has dramatically changed since it’s gotten colder.

And…it’s Autumn.  Literally overnight.  One day ago it was a sauna, now suddenly it’s in the 40s-60s.  It doesn’t seem to phase the flowers, though.  There’s a camo-cat in there, can you spot her?  She’s definitely a serious hunter.

After all the rain, it turned into a beautiful cool, windy, sunny day, perfect for planting some trees (courtesy of my son).  The change in weather creates lots of interesting natural transformations, such as leaves:

Flowers blooming in our field:

More flowers:

Veggies–these are cowpea pods and a jalapeño:

The unexpected–these are actually mushrooms, and something (garlic/onions?) coming up in the compost:

And last but not least, some of E’s excellent challah:

This Hurricane Michael has set some major historical precedents in terms of sustained strength on land, timing, and other meteorological conditions due to human-caused oceanic and atmospheric warming.  Coming so soon on top of Hurricane Florence, the devastation is even more catastrophic.

Closer to home, the rain that began last night and continues to fall was great for trees and plants, but too much even for our water-loving kitty friend, who opted for her first sleepover with us.  Every time I show her the door now, she takes one look at the deluge, and stays put.  Smart cat.  She prefers her water in climate-controlled convenience.

Yesterday evening was also enhanced by my son’s presence, after he got done working and resting at his Knoxville location (our office).  I’m so glad he feels at home here, and hope it becomes a habit.  Maybe the cookie (and booze) rewards are working!