Fall Here

Burning leaves in our backyard

I just stepped back inside from a short walk and decided I absolutely MUST share a bit of our Fall here in the Pacific Northwest.  It’s my first “real” Fall.  “Real” in the sense  where I can feel that “thing” in the air that marks the severing of summer and fall.

Everything is now more muted.  The sun still shines (except perhaps on the rainy days) but with less intensity, dropping more readily behind the hills and skyline as I watch.  Those same hills are mottled with varying shades: pale oranges, golden yellows and a few maple blood reds ….all set amidst the Evergreens that pervade the landscape.  Summer’s long weeds and grasses now stand lop-sided and dusty brown at the roadside and fence line.  The cultivated gardens and orchards appear bald and abandoned with old vines and plants gathered into piles while the fields and open spaces sport fresh green fuzz, a gift of the periodic Fall rain storms.  Sometimes the air pulses faintly with the drum of a helicopter as the nearby Christmas tree farm harvests trees on the hillside.  Other times the air is still and calm, with only the smoke from the burn piles be-lying the fall-time activity of our neighbors and nearby logging sites.  

There is a special “delightfulness” for me outside. My blood is slowly thickening and finding it easier to slip into a little sweatshirt before going outside to feed the chickens or to walk the quarter mile down the driveway to the mailbox.  My breath accompanies me in little puffs and vapors on my morning and late afternoon activities.  There is a quietness and calm…a misty, leaf-crunching “settling” that has begun. 

I am guessing winter may be a different story for me but so far I have adapted fairly well to the seasonal changes.  Let’s hope for the best! Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy the nieces playing in my leaf piles, learning how to start fires in wood stoves, and bringing the color of pumpkins and squash inside the house.