Musings of Autumn
Labels: Autumn, Life, Weather
By Nina Nintius
With a warm exhale, Mother Nature expels the years collection of debris and dust from trees that sway in the balmy breeze as if bowing before their Queen. Evergreens release seed husks that pepper the ground with wild abandonment. Meanwhile leaf bearers turn from green to yellow to orange, at last becoming a fiery red before succumbing to the gravity of their situations.
Autumn signals the end of summer fun, the time to harvest your garden, take down the gazebo, put away the hammock and put up your Christmas lights before it gets too cold and wet to be outside, let alone on the roof.
It is also a time to bring in the wood, sweep the floor, stoke the fire, sweep the porch, wipe off wet paws and oh yes, sweep, sweep, sweep. During this transition between summer and winter, shedding dog hair is joined by everything that the trees have spit out after being tracked in by man and beast.
As summer heat makes way for autumn rain, a blanket of baby greenery emerges from the once dusty pasture. Festive hearts prepare for All Hallows Eve while cooler nocternal temperatures inflame majestic Wapiti with a burning lust. The wind carries their scent to mighty hunters in search of glory...and meat.
Time to enjoy the final weeks of feeding in slippers, watering in pajamas. Soon partly cloudy will become partly sunny and then ultimately...rain. Rain, rain and more rain. Wind. Mud. Stack the pantry with can goods. Load the freezer with meat, bread and packaged food. Fill the porch with firewood and invest in a good 5000 watt or greater home generator. It is better to have a thing and not need that thing, than to need that thing and not have it.
Out here in BoonieVille USA there are lots of power lines crossing large regions of mainly timber land...trees that grow and grow until they are harvested. When the wind blows real hard or really wet snow comes down a foot at a time, these gangly untrimmed trees like to snap off and take power lines with them.
Other signs of fall include high school football games, new shows on prime time television, setting our clocks back an hour and mud. Oh I said that already. Well it bears mentioning again.
Envision the sight of your Beloved Empress, trogging across the soggy pasture, rubber boots slurping and slopping along, dressed like the Michelin Man in her over-sized black snow mobile suit. No, we don't have snow mobiles. We used to ski, and I just like to be warm. This thing is like a -10 degree sleeping bag that has arms, legs and a hood.
Autumn also prepares us for winter by gradually adjusting ambient temperatures, much cooler at night but still with the periodic sunny 75 degree day. Slowly our bodies adjust. Finding it difficult to warm the house "just a little" with only the wood stove for heat; we usually wait until its good and cold before torching off the burn box. Much to the dismay of two very spoiled, very cold blooded dogs who shiver below 80. Of course the giant water dog chooses to go outside when we warm up the house...poor baby can't stand the heat.
Nothing is ever all bad. This time of year, as the days grow darker earlier and earlier, lovers find they have more time for cuddling by a warm fire, with a boring DVD playing and their favorite drinks in hand. Boring DVD? Hmmm...whatever shall they do to amuse themselves?
Thank You For Reading!! ~99
