Fall

The day's are getting shorter, and it's hard to believe that we're half way through September already.  Gone are the day's of a hot, and miserable summer.  Now a new season has began, one filled with the smells of things to come.  Wet leaves, and the corn as it's being harvested, the fresh smell of the earth as fall plowing begins at the end of harvest.  The sounds change during this time of year too.  The song birds of summer and the buzz of humming birds give way to the call of blue jays and crows.  Crickets and grasshopper's begin their fall serenade, while squirrels and chip monks dart about under the oak and walnut tree's, as they gather and bury their winter store.  This is the time of year when the gardener's of summer begin their own kind of farming.

In the garden, the summer green beans are long gone.  Lined up in neat row's of canning jar's on shelves in the basement, filled with the yummy harvest of green, just waiting for the first snow to fly and the first stock pot of homemade vegetable soup.  Tomatoes are hanging ripe and red on the vine.  It's time to harvest the last juicy fruits of the vine.  Salsa, stewed tomatoes, juice, and whole tomatoes will make hearty soups and stew's to warm cold souls in the heart of winter.  Now it's time to dig the winter onions, potatoes, and carrots that will be stored in basket's or canned for winter goodness.  But, the harvest is also a new beginning.  A new round of planting now takes place.  The soil is prepared for the winter crops.  Turnips, broccoli, radishes, and kale are sewn in neat rows.  The earth is still warm, and the air is crisp and cool.  The perfect combination for new growth.

Fall festivals and parties prevail.  Apples, pumpkin's, cyder and warm donuts are all the first guest at any autumn activity.  Honey is an added treat in the fall.  Warm biscuits and bread tag along for a dinner treat.  Guest's stay longer and linger near the camp fire, and remember the hot summer past.  Folks take the time to stop at the drive or gate way to say hello.  No more day's of rushing around to get things done in the summer heat.  Now a cup of coffee is enjoyed in the crisp morning air.  Neighbor's turn out to lend a hand with harvest, or just to sit and enjoy some pie with the fellow next door.  The sheering is done, and the pasture's prepared.  The hay is baled, and the fodder shocks are stacked, the livestock is moved near the barn, and the rooster's crow is more relaxed and comes a bit later in the morning.  Autumn is coming near.

Soon enough the icy breath of winter will be upon the earth, and a quiet kind of sleep with replace the sounds of laughter that rang out as children played in piles of gold and red leaves.  The autumn air will give way to colder breezes, then recoil against the icy cold of the north wind.  Falling leaves will be gone, blown into brown piles against the fence rows.  Now the earth will be covered in a new blanket of white.  Leaves of red's and gold's will give way to the falling white of the snow. 

Most people think of spring as the new beginning, but fall is the true beginning.  Fall leads us to the quiet time of rest.  The time that allows the earth to catch up with her self.  A time of reflection, celebration and rebirth, before the coming of spring.  Fall is the first part of the year, not the end.  Fall into to a new time of hope and, enjoy the blessings that abound around you.  Enjoy the Fall.