What?

Viruses? Algae? Mold?

Nope -- just grapefruit, lemon, and orange peel. I was making marmalade and the little dots revealed fascinated me and I had to get a picture. So I taped the peels to a sunny window.

Then I had to get a shot of the peeled fruit  . . . and then, of course, I made the marmalade.

Such a pleasant occupation on a coolish, fallish day.  I did no canning this summer (except for one run of pepper jelly,) putting into the freezer what little of our garden produce the critters didn't get and we didn't eat fresh.

The familiar rituals -- assembling the jars, rings, and lids, pulling out the funnel and the jar lifter, preparing the fruit, measuring the sugar,  waiting for the boil, timing the various steps, and, of course, that rewarding ping! that says the jars have sealed.-- are all the more pleasurable on a quiet, unhurried Sunday afternoon.

Putting things by for winter seems in-built in many of us  -- not just squirrels. We are fortunate this year that we don't have to rely on what we've grown but still, the impulse is there -- make sure there's wood and fuel oil and kerosene for the lamps; hay and chicken feed, dog and cat chow, food in the pantry and the freezer in case of a big snow. In our forty-some years here, it's become second nature to be prepared for power outages, especially during winter.  It just feels right.