Monday, September 30, 2013

MONDAY MUSING— SEASONS CHANGE





I was sitting outside on the patio yesterday reading and it still felt and looked like summer. The yard is still blooming with flowers and I can still hear the buzz of insects and the crescendos of a few cicadas. My Mimosa tree is still bravely putting out a few pink puffs. 

Seasons are changing but the signs are not yet obvious. It’s something you sense rather than see. I look at the surrounding hills and there is very little color yet. But, there is a feel to the air—it’s a bit crisper in the early mornings and the evenings. I was thinking yesterday, as I watched the bees busy harvesting nectar from my flowers, it’s like everything is at the moment of pause. You can feel it on the cusp of change; nature is sucking up the last of the sunshine and food and preparing for the winter.

It may still feel like summer, I may still have to turn on the air conditioner in the afternoons (which will continue to operate off and on until November), but when I look across my road to our smaller pasture…ah, now there I see the evidence of the beginning fall. The scarlet leaves of the Sumac, a touch of yellow in the Walnut trees, the red leaves here and there on the white Ash, a hint of yellow and orange in the Sassafras and Dogwoods.



I do miss my morning sunshine. The angle of the sun has changed and of course, mornings come later now. I used to take a walk between 8-8:30 every evening to unwind from my day and still have the last rays of sunlight. Now, that’s gone and it’s almost dark by 7:30. Pretty soon it will be dark by 5:00. Not looking forward to the loss of light.
 
I’m a bit ambiguous about the changes. On one hand I want to hold on to summer and on the other I’m looking forward to snuggling up to fall and winter. I have a lot of energy in the fall—much like the trees as they change. I think the energy is a way of preparing for winter. I do have to move hay bales up closer to the house, clean out the dog houses and lay in fresh hay for bedding, fill in the summer holes that have been burrowed by the dogs to find cool beds in the earth, and make sure all the watering troughs are ready to go. The barn still needs a final clean up and fresh hay laid down in the area the horses take refuge from the fall rains and winter winds. The cats come in and out but most of them prefer to curl up in sleeping boxes filled with hay or in the west bay of the garage, which was designed to house a tractor and it’s where I load up the extra hay. Makes it easier to feed the horses once the ice and snow starts and it’s a lot easier to walk fifty feet to the garage than a quarter of a mile down to the barn to feed. Then there is the fall washing of all the windows and cleaning of the carpets for the times when the house is tightly closed off for winter. Still a lot to do so the energy comes in handy. J

I’m fortunate that when winter sets in I don’t have to travel to go to work. I work from home; my commute is from the coffee pot to my office. I have windows that look out on the property to the east and south. It also affords me a great view of the falling snow when it comes. I love writing when the snowfalls. My imagination flows with the autumn rains and the smell of wood smoke in the air and winter snow. I’m working on a new writing schedule that allows for my work schedule. I do my best creative writing in the early morning but my non-fiction writing is best in the evenings. So I’m trying to schedule that and start my paying job a bit later in the morning. I’m still playing with time slots, but it’s coming together.

Seasons change. We change with the seasons. It’s the way of nature.


  • What  changes do the seasons bring to you?