Fall Back Into Darkness

The time changed last night, always a weird thing.  And I woke up at 5:00 new time, 6:00 old time and I couldn't go back to sleep.  After coffee and writing my morning pages I wandered up to the corner to watch the light move over the land and sky.  The cows were still hunkered down from the night, birds were beginning to twitter and twitch in the hedgerows.  The air was very still and I could hear a great horned owl hoo hoo hoo-hoo off in the distance.  A flock of geese honked across the morning sky looking for breakfast.  Three planes took off from RDU, the first one catching the sun from below the horizon, making it look like a huge shooting start.  I could hear the traffic on I-40 even at 7 AM on Sunday morning- the cars never stop moving down that road, 7 miles from us and I can hear it still.

 

I decided today must be the day to deal with these purple onions gone awry.  I've been watching them sprout for weeks and saying, "I need to do something with those,  I really do"  The purples are the first to go, followed by the whites, the yellows are built for storage and should hold well into the winter.  But these, I couldn't let them sit another day or I knew they would be wasted.  So I cleaned them up, saved the sprouting greens to use as scallions, and sliced all the rest into rings.  

With one pound I made these lovely pickles.  They were easy and are crisp and mild.  I poured boiling water over them in a colander and then set them to steep in the vinegar with herbs and peppercorns.  The remaining three pounds are caramelizing on the stove as I write.  I want to get outside and enjoy the beautiful day but those onions need my attention at the critical moment of reducing and browning, they should be done soon and then I'll be set free from my onion penitence.  I only had to throw a few into the compost, too far gone.

Tonight dark will come early, it will be a shock.  But hopefully I will rest well and adjust easily to the new schedule. I do appreciate having earlier morning light, but it is a trade-off.  About 6 weeks still until the winter solstice, days continuing to shorten until that point. I hope the energy and joy I've been feeling lately can remain with me during the dark days to come.