In the dead of night just over a week ago, I found myself sleeping with an ice pack as our thermostat read 98 degrees. A temperature record was broken downtown and poor little Ruby needed ice cubes in her kitty water bowl. Come on, I thought. School has started, there are trees with reddening leaves, the sun has slumped further down in the sky. Surely Fall must be here. Fast forward a week later and now we have moody skies, the first rain in months, and perhaps a few other clues that a change of season, however mild in these parts, is among us:

The sand and the ocean, are suddenly alone again.

The contemplation of Halloween begins.

The lights of the neighborhood pumpkin patch hang in anticipation.

And in the kitchen, a new season's flavors are gathered, appreciated and savored with much more to come.