Fall

"I'm so happy to live in a world 

where there are Octobers!"

~LM Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Oh fall, you get me! 

Your warm sunshine on my face reaches deep into my soul, your chilly evenings force me to cuddle up with those I love and just be. Dark mornings say, "Here is an extra moment, be still. No need to hurry." Walking to school, my eyes almost hurt from the clear sky and multicolored trees. Looking to the mountains, I can see every individual layer before the Rockies, as they all have come out to be seen. The crisp air puts a little bounce in my step, the laziness of late summer gone for another year. The golden aspen leaves exude an urgency that says 'notice me now, and notice me well, for I will not be around much longer.' Sometimes I feel like I need to stop blinking for October. 

Our windows are still open during the day and into the evenings, but now I close the house up tight before bed, tucking our cozy family in together each night. The crickets have quieted, they know what's coming. The rustle of dry leaves already on the ground sound comforting to my ears. 

And the spices. Oh the spices! 

Fall, you get me!

Pots full of simmering goodness spread cumin and coriander throughout the house. Cinnamon, ginger and cloves waft from the oven and delight my senses. Walking through our front door on a day like today begs you to come in, sit down and savor it all. It's a time of paying attention, the world itself just begs to be seen and that memory carried into the next season. Harvest in full swing, farmers' markets and grocery stores are overflowing with all of my favorite things, pulling me quickly into the kitchen. During the last weeks of summer, I don't even feel like eating, much less cooking. But fall? Fall makes me want to bake and cook and eat all of the deliciousness that has been working so hard to grow all summer long. We had pumpkin scones earlier this week and we will have pie before the week ends. Why wait until Thanksgiving? October is for pumpkins! Butternut risotto and roasted broccoli with fresh pesto. Roasted beets, delicata squash and carrots. 

October is for absorbing it all. 

I feel like the little mice in the children's book Frederick by Leo Lioni, taking it all in, both literally and figuratively. For me, though, in this time and place, it's more about the gathering, the absorbing, the collecting and the relishing and less about the preparing for winter. October is a time to reflect. I learned about the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana recently and was struck with the power of taking a look at the past year's mistakes, trying to make them right and then letting them go. It seems fitting for this time of year. Fall is also the time for the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos, with altars that honor and remember the dead. We have long had an altar in our home, and I always find it fulfilling to talk with the girls as we put up pictures and little tokens for those who've left us. Shaun's grandmother gets four aces, my grandfather has a crossword puzzle and there is even a bit of grass for the horse who taught the girls to ride. Things get added every year, and we talk a little more deeply about it as the girls get older, but it adds such a richness to October. 

Oh fall, you get me.