After summer’s long draught, the fall rains have given birth to a mini spring. Nettles push up through the damp earth to soak in the morning mist. We’ll get to enjoy nettle soup before the frosts cut them down. The mosses are enjoying the wet too. They spring to life, drinking in the water and fluffing up. Funny isn’t it, that when you caress a soft moss, you’re touching mostly water.

Chickens enjoy the wet woods too. The damp earth digs up easily, revealing juicy earthworms and bugs to fill their crops.

One last flower clings to the stewartia. One last flower next to a crimson leaf. It’s spring next to fall.

The cool weather keeps the salad greens growing. The tub of greens I picked this morning went off to Tweets. The cabbage below I picked in the dark this evening for supper. It’s a wonder how plants grow out of the earth to become these delightful, edible feasts.