acorn caps

Today is the first day in a while that has felt like fall here in coastal Virginia. For a while the sugar maple in front of the house has been turning to bright yellow and orange and shedding its leaves. Big piles are forming in the front yard and the leaves dance in the wind, terrorizing Colette (my black cat - definitely a Halloween spirit). Every once in a while I'll bring in a fresh maple leaf and she goes crazy, tossing and chasing it.

In the spirit of the season, I collected some acorns and gathered them in a glass bowl on the coffee table beside a grouping of small gourds and such. My mind is now churning with recipes for butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Oh how I love the arrival of fall...