Monday, September 10, 2012

There it goes...Here it comes...

Today I took Mom back to Dad's after her 10-day visit. It was a perfect day for such a transition: temperatures only in the 60s, yellow leaves blowing off the linden tree while I was out in the garden this morning, the sky that brilliant autumn blue when it was visible through the huge, constantly-changing, mottled clouds. It feels like the end of summer in so many ways, so I'm counting this as the beginning of Fall.

I wasn't ready until today. Other people were starting to happily anticipate sweaters and falling leaves and hot drinks. But all I could think about was the onset of winter looming ever closer and mourning the eventual end of my garden. Thanks to my time at home with Mom and thanks to Mama Nature showing off the good stuff that makes me love Autumn in New England, I am now looking forward to the next couple of months.

Fall here takes its time and gives you a chance to enjoy every moment. Jeans and jackets here and there at first, but you can still hang clothes out on the line. Windows will have to be closed more and more often at night, but the zinnias will bloom until frost, and the panicle hydrangeas will continue to become increasingly pink and red. I still have time to relocate plants and grill out, but soon I'll be rekindling my October tradition of Nightly Horror Movies! I can use the oven again which means more dinner options and trying out all kinds of baking recipes I've been saving up all summer.

I'm not really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. It's not that I don't want to go back ever, just not yet. Now that I want to enjoy these days I want to enjoy what time I have left in my garden, to get as many loads of laundry out on the line as possible, to visit more places, work on more projects around the house, take more pictures. Instead, I will just have to make the most of my nights and weekends for the next 2 or 3 months.