a feeling of fall in the air...

It's not even September yet and already it feels like fall. Last week's heat wave came (thankfully) to a halt with the cooler weather of the PNW that we know and love, and it seems like the switch has been flipped into fall, even if the calendar doesn't say so. This happens to me every year, the feeling that fall is coming by the end of August, and with it, a deep-seated drive to get the winterizing done before the first frost in September.

Which is hilarious, really, because if we get any frost at all, it won't be until November/December, and we have months of warm weather and beautiful days ahead of us still. What can I say, 27 years in Wyoming, those old instincts die hard. But the vine maples do start changing right around this time, so it's not entirely without premise that I would be sensing that autumnal feeling in the air. Although I did hear on the news last night that we're not done with the heat yet...another 90 degree day coming up tomorrow, supposedly....

Regardless, a roast/stew in the crockpot yesterday seemed just the thing. And I did a bit of baking to use up the zucchini and summer squash that've been in our share for the last few weeks now. So I'm ready for fall, even if the mercury has decided to make a few more jumps upward.

lunch, Ms. Bento:

• stew: potatos, carrots, onions, green & royal burgundy beans, chard, and tomato with a pork shoulder roast
• onion sesame crackers and some gouda
• fresh-picked blackberries* (with a few leaves of greens for contrast)
• homemade zucchini bread

*We had a wonderful, wonderful family weekend with Sister, Guy, and the Fabulous Miss M, which included berry picking at a nearby farm. More about that hopefully tomorrow, when I have a couple of pictures that we took together.

(NOTE: I fixed the issue that was making the small pictures unclickable. Now when you click it, the small image above should open up a larger version.)