SOFT FALL

Even though we swim daily, it is fall, but a very soft fall. The wind and the water this fall both feel soft. And the level of our activity has taken a soft fall too, now that Jess and gang are gone. She arrived back in the US last night and I am relieved that she got back safely and that her European adventure is over. We have yet to hear from John Camera, but assume he will check in soon too from his Naples and Turin visits.
Meanwhile, we have tried to regulate our sleep patterns to the fall with its beautiful morning light and earlier darkness in late afternoon. Because we got up so early to take the kids to the airport, then slept during the day, we have been up at all odd hours. The sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular and I cannot stop taking pictures of it all. The night-blooming cactus seems to have mistaken summer and fall too, and is blooming like crazy, and then closes up in the later morning light.
The beach after the siroccos was a mess, with mounds of seaweed everywhere, and so we despaired of swimming again this year. But the last few gorgeous windless days have been just what the beach needed to calm back down. The water was clear and delicious today, and Arial and Steve both enjoyed it. Limoncello has enjoyed the porch each morning and even had a cat friend visit several times (remember, he is a true Tweetie Bird). Now he perches up on top of the cabinet to discourage his visitor from getting too close.
I made lasagne and we visited Joe and Brigette and enjoyed their hibiscus garden again in exchange for a little American lasagne. Here it is not the same as in the states at all-they use egg noodles and béchamel sauce and lots of vegetables like Spinach and zucchini, more in the Florentine style. I have been cooking with all the basil recipes I could find as my basil after our return from the states grew like a small tree! I made the last of the pesto Trapanese today (garlic, tomatoes, basil, almonds, oil), and boy was it good! Gardening lately without the extreme heat is a lot of fun. Our lettuce is almost ready to harvest. The blue that you see on the ground is the snail repellent they use here.
Sunday we visited Claudio’s dirt bike track and noticed improvements, including a US flag and advertisers! We wish him well. May all the falls there be soft falls like our soft fall here in Sciacca.