Hello Happy Autumn
Yesterday morning’s air had a chill that stuck around through most of the day. It was delicious. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and hugged myself a mug of steaming coffee. I was giddy with the thought of packing away the miserable swelter of summer’s heat in exchange for the crisp bite of autumn days. I know some of you adore summer, the tight squeeze of heat against a sweaty skull, the ripe smell of children left outside a little too long, but it’s just not for me.
With school beginning mid-August I had to wait for other signs to tell me it’s time to pull out the thick socks. Signs like this:
That’s Dave on the roof of the shed, harvesting our apple tree. Apple trees produce in full every few years, and this is going to be one of those years! The first batch was impressive, the apples are tart and tasty and have already been boiled down into scrumptious apple sauce. And the tree is still heavy with more. Added bonus? With a pot of simmering apples on the stove the house smells so good that I can barely hear the dust bunnies scuttling around. Besides, they’re almost cute when coated in the intoxicating scent of warm apples and cinnamon.
Another sign of fall? These gigantic sunflowers that are just now coming into their own.
The girls begged for the packet of seeds a million years ago (well, back in the spring) and you know how it is when the kids grab stuff as you’re leaving the store. I broke down, and they planted them all along the side of the driveway. They are amazing. Taller than me, some plants host four or five of the brilliantly bright yellow faces. One plant is inexplicably covered in these cool red striped flowers.
Ah yes, the signs of autumn. I had all but pulled on a hat and written off summer when the girls plucked these from the garden. Raspberries? In September? Drat. Foiled again. Looks like summer is not ready to go quietly into the night just yet.
