You could say nature built my sukkah this year.  A giant open-air sukkah, fabulously decorated with all the colors of the warm side of the rainbow.  Here are festive flowers, red grasses, blushing holly berries, changing leaves, banana peppers, and the delicate white filaments of bursting butterflyweed seedpods.  I couldn’t have done it better myself.

First {“not” gloating} I’m just surprised it didn’t happen sooner.  It was just a matter of time.  Inactions have consequences.  You know what I’m saying.  Perhaps there’s some poetic justice in the world.  ’nuff said!

And now to more current events.  Happy erev Sukkot, the feast of harvest, to those of us who celebrate–“celebrate” being a relative term right now.  Somehow I just didn’t have the heart to set up a sukkah this year, the first time in a while.  What’s the point?  Even my son can’t visit (except in my dreams each night).  Also, I couldn’t go shopping for appropriate harvesty decorations during the pandemic.  So there you have it.  🙁

Still, I try to create a festive-ish meal and surroundings with what I have to work with.  I wasn’t able to grow or buy pumpkins, squash, gourds, or etc. this year, but there’s always next year.  Or is there?  Time will tell!

This meal includes challah and homemade noodles by E, and a sweet potato/carrot/ fruit tzimmes by Y.T.  Lots of fresh homegrown herbs were involved.  Happily there is no lack of flowers this year.  And we’re still alive, so that’s something.

Today it was another gorgeous, perfect day out, so I began laying down some weed barrier around the trees in the “prairie”.  I think the trees multiply overnight; it really is like a baby forest out there.  Which is all part of my evil plan.

Also today I learned, do not even try to dig and transplant even a small walnut tree.  The taproots are so entrenched, it’s impossible.  I kept trying smaller and smaller saplings until I found a tiny one which surrendered.  It will be the first of a long line of trees along the driveway fence.  If I die trying, at least it was in pursuit of reforesting our tiny parcel of earth.

Here is your daily dose of bugs and their flower hosts.  Also E’s latest challot, and some herbs.