fox head, fox head, teeny tiny fox head...

in which our plucky heroine wakes up early...

...because early morning is the best time of day, in summer. There have been a few days of respite, with pleasant daytime temperatures in the mid 70's, and delightfully cool nights. Not for long, as we are heading into another heat-danger-zone of triple digits and little cooling off at night. Ugh!

But, for the last several days, my morning walk included carrying a small bucket, as I foraged the alleys for ripe blackberries. Since they are weeds here, no one minds if some of the fruit gets picked (and I always ask). A few pounds were enough to make a seedless syrup to pour over yogurt. I force berries through a sieve, mashing with a wooden spoon, in order to leave the seeds behind. Some lemon zest and juice, a modest amount of sugar to balance it, and this time I tried simmering a sprig of sage in the syrup before putting it in jars for shelf storage.

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~ creativity challenge ~

Painted the spun cotton fox head made earlier this summer, preparing to create a companion for Nandina.

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Other housey tasks have included the everpresent pruning. I cut back about half of feral grape, as since I don't make wine, the grapes are of no real use to me, and once the season progresses, they become yellowjacket feeding stations. I removed the ailanthus tree that sprouted on the east side of the house, and continued cutting back branches that overhang the sidewalk from the parking strip. When it cools down again, I will be doing more cutting back and pruning up of the plum thicket.

Two different households shared their bounty of green beans with me, some from the Mud Bay crew, and some from Conchobar and Liaden. More beans than I can easily eat at one time, so am intending to attempt "dilly beans" and turn some of them into condiments instead.

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This article seems to me to also be relevant to how we are adapting (or not adapting) to the ongoing grief of losing Earth That Was in exchange for Isolation World

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	twirly skirt	grapevine pruned	yard waste bin
2	Mano d'Oro scroll	fox head painted	Ailanthus cut down
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	x	x
7	-	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - word arrived that a friend is sending me some N95 masks, which will help keep me safe(er) in the newly returned danger of COVID from the Delta variant