aaah, that's better

In just a few minutes it will officially be the first day of Autumn! How I love the names of the seasons. Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer. The words themselves are so lovely and evocative. Every season has its merits, but this, this is my favorite one. Cool mornings and evenings begin, accompanied by warm and sunny afternoons. Rainy days return as well, bringing desperately needed liquid relief to a land parched from the harsh days of summer.


I took the first two pictures last December so we still have some time to wait before it actually looks like fall around here, but no matter. It's the state of mind that I love most: A time for introspection and daydreaming, a warm cup of tea enjoyed with a purring lap cat and an engrossing book, steaming bowls of soup and freshly baked bread, vast and low-slung orange moons, the soft hoots of a visiting owl, a far away train whistle in the middle of the night, pumpkin patches and hay rides and tromping through paths strewn with crunchy fallen leaves, scarecrows and apple harvests and light jackets and beloved quilts taken out of linen closets, muted harvest colors and brilliant glowing foliage, graceful and dizzying ribbons of black birds streaming over the highway at dusk, Halloween and headless horsemen and haunted houses and all things creepy, spooky, dark and mysterious.

The mercury may climb to 90 degrees here today, but in my mind and heart there is a most welcome chill.