fall

Time for another descriptive blog. Fall has most definitely arrived. The pool has been abandoned and sits there, tired and waiting for the winter closing.

One night's frost has taken its toll on most of the garden, so last night we had "last hurrah from the garden" omelets, with cherry tomatoes and basil and green onions. All but the tomatoes, peppers, leeks, and some of the herbs have been shipped off to the compost pile. Some of the herbs were cut and are now hanging up to dry in the summer kitchen. The chickens, meanwhile, have made the garden their playground and spend the days busily scratching, flinging soil everywhere and finding bugs for snacks. The lawn is looking a little shaggy, needing its last cut of the season. Pumpkins are sitting in the sun to 'season', along with the onions and shallots, to prepare for storage. The apples picked on Sunday will find their way into my freezer this week as sauce, pies, or crisps.

The windows are being closed at night now, as the sun's setting brings on the chill. We put a fire on over the weekend and its cheery crackling was a very welcome thing. Outside the maples have started turning to orange and red, the swallows have been gone for weeks, and the sound of geese on their southward journeys is becoming more common. I always find that their honking sounds more melancholy in the fall. I'm sure it's just my perception though.

The girls have been digging out their sweaters and R has taken to stealing my socks on a regular basis.

And there's that smell in the air. How to pin it down? It is crisp, a hint of leaf decay in it, perhaps a distant trace of smoke from someone's leaf fire or wood stove. It brings to mind brilliant blue sky, yellowing grass and leaves slipping through the air or crunching underfoot. Not the wettish smell of spring or the heavy air of summer. It is its own. Fresh, but with a bit of warning that cold is on its way.

The garden will have a new row dug out this fall, to be turned over and have lots of compost added so it's ready for spring planting. The chicken coop needs its winter preparations completed, snow fencing must be put up by the driveway, the old barn foundation should be cleaned out and filled. I want to try putting a coldframe in the garden so I can get some greens growing later into the fall, and hundreds of other little jobs are waving their hands and shouting "ooh! ooh! pick me! pick me!"

Fall is a busy time here, but I do think it's my favorite season.