Chance of Frost

Inspirational song: Change in the Weather (John Fogerty)

We made it, y'all! We survived another summer in a brick oven with no central air conditioning. I did better than last year, and the year before that. Last night a new cold front blew through, and it was pleasant light sweater weather all day. I've been feeling blue for days, and this went a long way into helping me put the demons back into boxes and cheer up. We aren't in the clear yet. It'll still be warm in the afternoons. But I pulled the fans out of the windows, and I expect to get the first good night of sleep in the cold in ages.

Continuing my efforts to plug back in to local news, I got the TV switched over just in time for the weather forecast. I'm close enough to a frost advisory that I immediately paused it again and jumped up to decide which of my porch plants to drag inside. There were two juvenile geraniums that needed to be in right away. There's a tiny jade that has struggled ever since I took it outside. (It probably needs to be planted a little deeper too.) Then I discovered why the Boston fern always looked like it was dying, all summer. I kept thinking it was not being watered deeply enough, and that the sun was scorching it. Turns out it was floating in stagnant water. I tipped it over and drained about a liter of water onto the driveway before I carried it in. (And then I put it up on top of the liquor cabinet so the cats don't eat it.)

I don't think it's really going to freeze tonight, but it's still exciting knowing it's closer. I needed something to look forward to. I was never a fan of summer, but the older I get, the more my disease advances, and the more scarred my soul becomes, the harder it is to put up with them. I can cuddle up in a blanket and solve multiple problems (chase away cold, soothe my senses, and attract all the cats -- 4 today on me under the new microfiber plush one). It's much harder to feel good in the heat when you can't stand the sun on your skin, can't snuggle with cats when they feel like little charcoal briquettes. It's feel-good season, and I say welcome to it.