The sun rose this morning at 7:24 and will set this evening at 8:07 pm for 12 hours 45 minutes of day — 6 ½ minutes less than yesterday. The sun is 26 ½ ° above the horizon at noon, and nights are getting longer. The waning half moon, however, has been high in the sky the last few nights.

Early Friday morning is the autumnal equinox – on Central, the southward equinox, sometimes called Feastday. (The Central year begins with the vernal equinox, called Yearday there.)

Very few deciduous trees have even a hint of green left.

I still haven’t had a frost at my place, though I’m expecting one every night. It’s interesting to watch the progress of the trees. Those that were among the first to show yellow are now almost bare, while only the slowest still show some green. The grass in the North yard is almost covered with dead leaves.

The tomatoes are beginning to ripen, and the zucchini – well, another trip to donate to the food bank had better be part of the agenda for today.

The Farmers Market had their last session of the season yesterday. I’m sorry from the point of view of getting local produce (though there is now a market that carries local products) but relieved that I will not be spending every Wednesday at the market trying to sell my books.

Even the big chain supermarkets show signs of fall. Sweet cherries have vanished, replaced by winter squash. It’s time to keep an eye out for delicata, which I have not succeeded in growing. I like to cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, brush the cut surfaces and the seed cavity with olive oil and microwave it –about 10 minutes for a medium squash. Then scoop out the flesh and add sausage, meatballs or meatloaf. Someday I’ll put up my favorite turkey meatloaf crock-pot recipe.