Libra

 

 

 

Tonight, the weather folks gave the warning for the first frost of the year.

I spent the day hurrying through the chores of a northern farm sensing the impending end of warm days for 2012.

 

 If you could do more than see through to this blog, you would smell the perfume of falling leaves, smoke from a nearby campfire and the end of summer; hear the call of wild turkey hens and crickets; feel the cool breeze in the air and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet; taste the sparkle of frost gathering in the north.

 

I love fall. It is the only season to have two names. It is the season of my favorite holiday, my birthday, and the magic of changing trees.

 

 





 I also feel a little bittersweet this time of year. The garden winds down and the frost harvest ends the season of tomatoes. The sunlight crawls away and the darkness gathers.

 

The garden has been great this year. I've managed to harvest more than we need from nearly every plant. Spaghetti squash, while not a winter keeper, will keep us fed through early winter months.

The peppers seem to know no end to their bounty and I will be sad to see their demise.

Even the flowers I have planted half-heartedly gave me more than I ever expected this year. Again, the frost will not be a welcome friend.

 

 

 I have pretty much taken whatever is left in the garden-all except for a few of the aptly named Peter peppers from which I am hoping to save seeds.

 

I was not the only one hurrying to complete autumn chores today.

 

It's been chilly much earlier this autumn than the two past ones. I love fall, but I am dreading another brutally cold winter.