The First Day of Fall - 2020

 Autumnal  Equinox

Farm Truck: photo by Cliff Hutson

The Autumn Equinox for 2020 in Northern Hemisphere was at 6:30 AM (PDT) this morning, marking the astronomical start of the fall season. 

"The Old Farmer's Almanac"  says that another definition of fall is “nights of below-freezing temperatures combined with days of temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21°C)”. From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop. I do not know who its target audience is, but that is certainly not the case for us.  But, there are some notable changes.

Night and Day

Changing Leaf: photo by Cliff Hutson

After the Fall equinox, nights become longer than days, bringing us into a period of relative darkness. It is this difference in the amount of sunlight that triggers the changes in foliage for many of our trees and other plants. 

While tradition has it that Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend is when the color peaks in New England, our best colors do not occur until much later in the season. So, some years the best way to tell that Fall is here is to watch for the return of Pumpkin Spice Latte. But, that came early this year. 

Orange Skies

“God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time.”

  -  Traditional Song

The Fires This Time 

This morning's local paper of record states that more than 14,000 firefighters are battling 29 fires from San Diego to the Oregon border, according to the California Department of Fires and Forestry Protection.

I am very fortunate that none will present any danger to me other than very unhealthy air quality due to the smoke and ash. Parts of California, and Oregon, have an Air Quality Index (AQI) of over 600, exceeding the scale’s maximum value of 500 and reaching unprecedented levels in the United States. Needless to say that is bad. However, this has certainly created some spectacular displays in our skies.

Morning

Orange Sky at Morning: photo by Cliff Hutson

Evening

Orange Sky at Night: photo by Cliff Hutson

Reading Log: August 2020

 The books I finished reading in August 2020

August 2020 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

• “To Have and Have Another,” Philip Greene
  
• “The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook,” Joanie Zisk
  
• “Cooking Through Trader Joe’s Cookbook,” Kelsey Lynch
  
• “Alton’ Brown’s GEAR For Your Kitchen,” Alton Brown
  
• “Annihilation,” Jeff VanderMeer
  
• “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” B. Traven
  
• “Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel 
  

Il Tricolore

Gnocchi-Broccoli-Pomodoro

I think that it takes only a little stretch of the imagination, or would that be a willing suspension of disbelief, to see that the colors of the Italian flag, il Tricolore, reflected in this meal I recently "created".  This makes me chuckle as the dish is centered around gnocchi a potato based dumpling which originated from Italy.

A New Dish

It is something that I had never made before and was done on a whim when I decided that the Trader Joe's Outside-In Stuffed Gnocchi I was fixing needed some augmentation if I was going to have a complete meal. My first thought was broccoli, i.e., a vegetable, or green. There were also tomatoes on hand, which were not getting any younger, so in they went as well.

I really enjoy cooking, even if it’s been mostly to feed just myself for the past twelve years.  Much of the fun depends on putting together what I have in my pantry, freezer  or fridge.  This time it turned out more than OK.  It kind of reminds me of the first few weeks of Quarantine Quitchen. 

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Reading Log: July 2020

 The books that I finished reading in July 2020

July 2020 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

The only one worth mentioning

“No Country for Old Men,” Cormac McCarthy