Ruby at West Seattle Farmers Market

(And, I think, Ruby's webpage which seems to be a pile of other links: https://linktr.ee/westseattlebusker?fbclid=IwAR0UiAoNona5uhIX0BJm2VtT-3ERh5cZv247ULeEDAhTtqdhbZeK8Z3dFEo)

Photo Update for Posterity

The Greenman with his new fall hairdo

 

 

Bessie's mileage as of late September (288 miles to go to hit my goal)

 

These are some of my favorite things (in no particular order as I clear off my phone and camera):

Grace in the living room in the late summer morning light

Scott (and Bessie) overlooking Puget Sound in the late summer setting sun

Scone-making in progress (late summer fruit)

What I call "Grace being Grace"

Slice o' Smoky Saturday update

 Seattle has been pretty lucky all summer in not getting hit by the wildfire smoke that has plagued BC, Oregon, and Idaho, but all streaks must come to an end and today was the day for Seattle, though it's still just borderline unhealthy for everyone.

Airnow.gov Seattle graphic as of 12:54 p.m.

Realizing the air and the heat were likely to become issues later in the day, Scott and I uncharacteristically got up early and set out for Fresh Flours at about 9:30 this morning (because, yes, anything before ten on a Saturday morning is early in our world). The graphic then showed the needle at the high end of the green segment, so pretty decent. I was fairly gasping on the first hill, but I'm always gasping there; sadly, it has nothing to do with the air quality. 

We have serious doubts about the accuracy of the elevation gain number, but it looks impressive, doesn't it?

 I don't know if they're new, but we hadn't noticed them before: several of the road signs along the route (in the Riverview/Highland Park neighborhoods, to get ultra-local) had large colorful art on their backs. Naturally, I stopped to photograph a few:

We think the subsequent ones are subsections of this one, which was a lot larger than the others.

West Seattle's Fresh Flours, when we reached it, was hopping, but there was no shortage of pastry and plenty of seating on the patio. I don't know why it is but every time we sit on the Fresh Flours' patio, it feels like we're on vacation. It's magical, I tell you. There were a lot of house sparrows, looking to fill up on empty calories.

As it happens, I had seen that Paper Boat Booksellers was celebrating its three-year anniversary this weekend with 10 percent off pretty much everything, as well as a bit of a sidewalk sale so, since that can be on our route home (if you figure a mile or two out of the way is, in its own way, "on the way"), we stopped by there and did some shopping before finishing our ride in the deepening haze. (Does haze "deepen"? I'm not sure. I do know that I'm feeling a bit lightheaded.)

The day's haul / Local economy boosted / Essential supplies laid in

Another brief post for posterity

Labor Day Weekend Harvest*

 

This (late) morning's activity: a quick harvest.

 This afternoon's activity: figuring out what to do with plums this year when we don't want more plum jam, don't eat that many fresh plums, and can't get to the food bank to make a donation any time soon. I sense some plum torte--maybe enlivened with fresh fennel seeds?--in the near future. 

*Not pictured because not picked: the basil that is likely to figure in tonight's dinner.

 And, a few hours later:

NYT plum torte (with experimental fennel)**

**And with apologies to Julia Child and Paul Hollywood for being too lazy to add their mandatory apricot glaze. Maybe later.