Hail, Autumn!

The calendar may say that Autumn isn't here and the heat index may well agree with that, but she's here. The shift in seasons is happening, I can feel it all around. The cicadas are beginning to quiet down, there have been a lot more foraging birds and squirrels in the yard, the natural world is beginning to slow down.

We had our first rain of the season, five to ten minutes spits of rain from the clouds that increased the humidity but the plants didn't mind and perked right back up from their semi-wilted states. All of the cloud cover really seems to have cooled things down though and for the first time since April, the temperature in my home fell below 80* without the help of air conditioning (which I never use anyway
).

The funk continues to linger, being fed by dissatisfaction with the company I work for and an ever-changing odd ball schedule. I feel as if there are incredibly few hours in the day with my current schedule; if I work the 'late' shift I have maybe two hours in the morning to exercise, eat and run any errands if I don't want to wake up at 6am (and as I am the classic definition of a night owl, this time would be spent yawning, drinking coffee and looking at my bed rather than being productive.) and if I work a full shift I go in at 8am and don't make it home until 6pm or later. I could manage my time with these shifts better if I had a set schedule, but with finicky co-workers who can't wrap their heads around the concept of an advanced schedule, it's never going to happen. As a result I've been creating less which will always, without fail, make me a mopey girl. I owe a few emails, postcards and coffee dates (lookin' at you Jenn) to people, I haven't forgotten and I'm not mad at anyone, just trying to shake this malaise.

That being said, as Autumn sweeps over the land my energy level is improving slightly. It's difficult for me to not get at least a wee bit excited when the best time of year comes to call! With any luck, the buzzing I feel in the air will penetrate this gloom and I'll be right as rain soon, this season has a way of healing and soothing me that is unmatched by anything aside from the sea. The first bits of my annual Autumn cleaning spree have begun, I've even taken down all 200+ books from my over-encumbered shelves to dust and reorganize them. I was sad to see the beginnings of foxing on my beloved words, so have plans to build museum quality shelves to hold them.

I've dusted the mantle and am debating where to put the springy things that are up there now to make room for pumpkins galore. Since I've been unimpressed with all of this year's pumpkin offerings at the craft stores, I think I'm going to have to make a bunch of my own or browse Etsy. Getting a new pumpkin to add to my collection is a yearly tradition around here!

I think I've rambled enough about what I've been up to, how have you all been? Getting into trouble, I hope. ;-)