It’s Time to Get Cozy

It finally feels like fall in southeastern Virginia, but if I wait five minutes, I’m sure that feeling will change. I’m not sure if it’s my age, my body, or my environment, but things have felt particularly swampy in 2025 and frankly, I’m over it. I posted not long ago on Threads that if we were going to deal with gross humidity and heat, frankly, I’d rather be in New Orleans. Now, that’s a wonderful place to be slightly grumpy about the weather. Nevertheless, I have started making changes. My mantle is decked out in a seasonal pop up paper fruit garland along with a few pumpkin on a stick (ornamental egg plant) I grew this season but then had absolutely no market for. That’s one of the tricky parts of my work for me. I really do love plants and flowers and growing cool shit. So, I have to force a ratio of reasonable things to grow alongside the weirdo plants I’m just fascinated by. The ornamental eggplant was my weirdo this year. But it is perfect for October, and meets one of my top requirements for unusual plants which is that it makes people say “what is that?” as they pass by my curbside garden.

It’s been both a little cold and a little dark and frankly, I enjoy both at this stage. Everything feels moody and in need of a blanket and candlelight including yours truly. I want to be tucked in and so does the earth. I have a marathon work month (five talks, bulbs arriving, cool season annuals to plant to overwinter, prepping some teaching projects) and I know people don’t believe when I say my favorite thing to do is nothing, but as I write, I’m on the sofa, tea on one side, knitting on the other, wondering how early I can switch to candlelight without my family complaining. I think I’ll do it now.