Changing Seasons

At the beginning of the month, we were still running around in short sleeves.
Still building “sand castles” and pretending it’s summer.  Not long before that — just days — we were taking advantage of one last chance for bathing suits, water, and ocean discoveries.  Then, just like that, the weather changed and now we’re galavanting about in tights and fleece.  Spoiling little girls with cookies instead of ice cream.

The air conditioners are out of the windows and I spend more time fantasizing about quilts and fuzzy slippers and already thinking about how much I miss the fireplace in our NY house, than I think about sunhats and keeping myself hydrated.

It’s fall on Nantucket.  There are leaves crunching underfoot, local cranberries on grocery store shelves, and the surest sign of impending winter: a lift on the summertime outdoor construction ban.

Last weekend, we tried for a repeat of last year’s grape picking, only this year with Dada in tow.  We had a lot of fun walking out to the (clearly not a secret) spot where I picked heaps and heaps of grapes last year, but ended up only leaving with a few pounds.  I went out there in early September to find some and noted that the grapes were not ripe enough.  It turned out we waited too long and they had been very picked by the time we went back.  It was disapointing, because I was looking forward to making grape jelly again.  But we enjoyed what we got — enough for snacking and a grape focaccia.  And the family time was wonderful.