For Love of Autumn

I was catching up on some reading on the PTF blog and caught Anais’ post about autumn and all that she looks forward too. She asked what it is what that we looked forward to; in writing a response to her I realized how much I love autumn and was inspired. Please bear with me as I try to capture what it means to me.

 

Brisk frosted mornings greet me with a nip on my cheeks. Sunrise peeks late over the mountains giving them golden halos that blind me, yet refuse my efforts to look away. The days, shorter and cooler, bid me to come out; “Enjoy me while I am here.” they seem to say, “My frozen cousin will visit soon.” In the garden I kneel on damp ground, still warming in the low hanging sun. The spent ground, that weeks before yielded up its bounty, now calls out for replenishing care, a last grooming before its long winter sleep. Inside, the cool air of the tired year blows gentle through the open windows to refresh the house and circulate the smells of the season throughout. They hit me as hard as a blown kiss; the warm smell of baking bread or the tingle of the cinnamon and cloves in the pumpkin cookies. In the evening, which seems to come still earlier each day, I find myself lulled by the creak of the porch swing. Warmed by the soft fabric of a homemade quilt and the gently pressure of my wife leaning into my shoulder, we watch the sunset to the west; its orange glow shines across our valley and seems to put the aspen and scrub oak ablaze on the mountains. The kids play in the yard begging for a few more minutes of day, the beauty of it all lost in their refusal to let summer go. It’s a good time; slow down, rest a little and enjoy one of the best times of the year.

 

For A~, who opened me up to the love of autumn, and whom I look forward to sharing many of them I the future!

 

P~