I am enjoying the cooler weather. It means I don't have to leave the house so early in the morning to walk. The brisk air allows me to wear a sweatshirt, that usually comes off about the halfway mark. However, it is the need for the sweatshirt when I do my chores, feeding my two horses, one donkey, two steers, and two cats, that I enjoy. It means Fall is on its way.
The other day when I helped my hubby down by the dairy hay barn and shop, I caught a whiff of decaying leaves. Have you noticed how fallen leaves, once they hit the ground have a unique smell? That was the scent I caught and my mind did a happy dance. "It's Fall, it's Fall!" That scent I remember as a child when the cottonwoods, willows, and lilac trees would lose their leaves and my brothers and I had to rake them up and dispose of them in the compost pile. I loved that time! It also meant picking up the apples that had fallen to the ground and making apple cider.
Fall meant school had started. I loved school! I enjoyed learning and having access to a library every school day. During the summer we only went to town once a month to go to the county library. I couldn't' wait for that trip each month. I'd load up on what I thought would be enough books until our next trip, but I would devour them and read them again before we made that monthly trip to town for groceries.
The cooler weather, the work for people who farm slows down. Instead of irrigating, sowing, and getting in the crops, now it is just taking care of the animals and making sure there is enough firewood (or wood pellets or propane) for the winter along with feed for the animals.
Halloween and Thanksgiving are holidays that are fun. Halloween to dress up. I don't do that at all anymore, but as a kid I loved coming up with a costume. They are always homemade. As an adult, I loved dressing up and helping at our kids grade school Fall Festival. We even made my husband's walking floor semi trailer into a haunted house one year. Thanksgiving is always about family. Gathering as many as we can together. And if we have friends who will be alone, we invite them over too.
The nights are cooler, the days are growing shorter, and Fall is tapping on my shoulder, making my heart sing.
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 51 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it
blog / website
/ Facebook / Paty's Posse
/ Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub
6 comments:
My memories are different than yours, Paty but still filled with the joy of cooler temps and the change of the season. Winter is still my favorite season. I think Spring and Fall tie for second place. Summer is my least favorite but then I do not deal well with heat or heat and humidity. And this year with the cooler temps I've found my way back to the keyboard and writing stories again!
Judith, so glad you have found your way back to the keyboard! I think after the grueling summer we all had that this fall weather is welcome by everyone.
Paty,
I love your description of fall as a child. I lived in the city, and also, racked leaves in the backyard. I love the smell of wood smoke from fireplaces in the early mornings, cooler weather, snuggling into a warm jacket for my morning walk. I enjoy Halloween one of my favorite holidays. This year I will be going to my daughters house in Oroville. I'll be dressed as a witch and pass out candy while she and her husband take their son trick or treating.
What a beautiful last line to your blog post, "fall tapping you on the shoulder. :))
I've been thinking a lot about you this Fall and your farming life. In so many ways I envy how your life fallows the seasons and that come Fall and winter it is a time where things slow down a bit and you can spend so much more time indoors and catching upon things--particularly writerly things. On the other hand, I do not envy your spring and summer business. :)
Enjoy your slowing down, coming inside, and having more celebrations with family all around.
HI Diana, Thanks! I love fall and spring. They are cooler than summer but show the changes that transpire in nature.
Hi Maggie, Yes, we can finally catch our breath and relax into the coming months. Only to regroup and start the busy seasons all over again come April.
Paty, my favorite seasons are fall and spring, too! Lovely post!
Post a Comment