[Source: Xinmin Evening News] White dew today. Although it is still hot, autumn is getting closer and closer. After the white dew, the remaining heat gradually subsides, and the mood of autumn becomes stronger. But Qiuhu also has lustful power, so he turns off the air condition

White dew today. Although it is still hot, autumn is getting closer and closer.

After the white dew, the remaining heat is gradually disappearing, and the autumn mood is getting stronger. But Qiuhu also has lustful power, so he turns off the air conditioner before going to bed, and often wakes up in the morning dripping with sweat. One day I woke up before five o'clock, and after tossing and turning for a long time, I couldn't fall asleep again. I got up and went to the balcony to water the flowers.

The green plants that have grown stronger after surviving the hot summer are shrouded in fish-belly white light, awakening under the fine water mist sprayed from the shower. The cicadas and birds are noisy in the canopy outside the window, making the morning atmosphere even more vivid. Quiet and cool. Why not go for a walk before the temperatures warm up? As soon as I thought about it, I immediately put on my light clothes and shoes and went out to the green space. The cool breeze blows on the face and the morning sun shines softly. For the human body, the cold and warmth of this season are just right. From the perspective of traditional seasons, the most pleasant part of the four seasons is the half of spring and autumn when day and night are even and the cold and heat are average. When we walked to an open area, we saw that the sky in the distance was half dark and half bright, with thick rain clouds gathering in the dark and a clear sky in the bright, which suited the scene at that time. Day and night, yin and yang, subconscious dreams and the so-called waking reality, all interchange at this time, which is a wonderful moment that can easily inspire poetry and creativity.

Wandering along the green path by the water, the light morning mist is dissipating, the plants and trees stretch their waists, strong or graceful, and various colors and fragrances, light and dark, come one after another.

Ginkgo leaves are green, and the veins are as fine as the work of a skilled craftsman. They are preparing for late autumn transformation, waiting to show the purest golden color. The camphor trees that are spread all over Shanghai are so accustomed to them as a "big background" that most of the time we don't smell their fragrance. If the wind suddenly hits us, the pungent coolness will be strong and penetrating. Pittosporum is quite low-key this season. Looking at its plain leaves, it is hard to think of its inconspicuous white flowers. In fact, it is the distantly fragrant Qilixiang in Jay Chou's song. Soon its fruits will burst to reveal bright red seeds, which will become a vibrant splash of color in the colorful autumn colors. The rose-red and moon-white crape myrtles are in full bloom, and a small bird's nest among the branches reminds me of the adult blackbird I photographed on a tall crape myrtle tree last year. I looked through the photo album on my phone and discovered that it was July. It is said that the flowering period of crape myrtle can last for more than three months, and it is also known as "hundred-day red". Yang Wanli, a poet of the Song Dynasty, once said in a poem: "Who knows that flowers don't bloom for ten days, and crape myrtle blooms for half a year." That big crape myrtle must also be in full bloom, and I moved to a far away place. I wonder who is lingering under its flowers this year. .

Exquisite little flowers poked out from the bushes. They have slender branches and willow-like leaves. The flowers are shaped like morning flowers. The blue-purple color is highly saturated and is particularly bright under the morning light. The flower identification app recognized its scientific name as "Blue Flower Grass", and when I thought of the folk song "Orchid Flower Grass" I sang with my little sisters when I was a child, I instantly had complicated feelings. This blue flower blooms in the morning and fades in the evening. A single flower only has a lifespan of one day, and new flowers bloom the next day, so it is named "Daily New". The flower you saw today will no longer exist tomorrow. Fortunately, this flower has a long blooming period and blooms continuously from spring to autumn. Every day that passes will never come back again. Whether it's red for a hundred days or new every day, every day is different, and every day is new and good.

On the way back, I saw that both the golden osmanthus and the red osmanthus were in full bloom. The strong fragrance of golden osmanthus hits people's noses from afar, reminding people of the prosperity and gentleness of Wu. The fragrance of osmanthus is not as bold as its color, but it has a calming smell when you get up close and smell it deeply. It is best paired with autumn tea that has a strong brewing taste and a sweetness.

Autumn belongs to the metal, which is the main element of harvest. Qi tends to be dry, which should be in the lungs. The lungs are worried about the ambition. Therefore, the ancients said that "autumn has been sad and lonely since ancient times." The diet in this season should focus on nourishing the lungs and nourishing yin. After eating a bowl of wontons, we took a walk around the market and brought back pumpkins, eggplants, chestnuts, water chestnuts, pomegranates, and Qiuyue pears. It just so happened that the online shopping Buddha's hand also arrived. Previously, I browsed through the cookbook "Zhongjianlu" written by Pujiang Wu, a housewife from the Yuan Dynasty, and saw how to make sauces with bergamot, citron and pears: "Pear the pears with their skins into the sauce vat, and they will not go bad for a long time. Remove the pulp from the citron, and remove the skin from the sauce." . Bergamot whole sauce. New orange peel, stone flowers, and gluten can be eaten in sauce, and it tastes better. "I wanted to try it at the time, but I was too lazy to get the ingredients. After all, today is no different than in ancient times. Spending too much time and energy on cooking is a luxury, but if you are sentimental, you can still enjoy the delicious taste of autumn by simplifying it.

Before starting work, boil a pot of old white tea and steam chestnuts and water chestnuts for snacks.For lunch, pumpkin porridge with fried cantaloupe in sauce is particularly sweet to whet your appetite. When I get tired of typing in the afternoon, I peel an Qiuyue pear and half a pomegranate to replenish energy, promote body fluids and moisturize dryness. Reading Yang Zhishui's "The Book of Songs" at night, I accidentally or intentionally smelled the light and long-lasting fragrance of the Buddha's hand. After some time, the bergamot is dried, and the fragrance becomes calmer and calmer. In autumn, it is better to go to bed early to calm down the yang energy. Placing dried bergamot on the bedside can help you sleep well.

In this harvest season when everything is filled with autumn fragrance, I am grateful for everything given by the plants and trees I encounter every day. The grass and trees are speechless, not artificial or pretentious, but full of color and character. Beside roads, in fields, on mountains, in deep valleys, by rivers, in deserts; in bustling places and in sparsely populated places; no matter when and where we meet, the tenacity, tranquility, beauty, and generosity of vegetation can always nourish life and heal. soul.(Wang Mengmeng)