As Leaves Fall Away

The days are fast becoming much shorter and the light seems to carry a different hue as it casts lower in the southern sky. The home is filled with filtered light and the smells of warming foods that cook as slow as the day. Around town trees blaze radiant festive colors of foliage before brisk winds scatter the dancing leaves through the sky. Soon these trees will stand starkly naked in the frigid winter air, giving no clue as to their energy lying in wait for warmer, longer days.

These fallish days beckon us to slow it down, reflect and shed our own leaves of old. Fall is a time of endings, a time of tying up loose ends in preparation for new chapters, and a time to gather all we've gained from yesterdays to make tools for tomorrows.

In the garden it is when we must pull up our exhausted plants that worked throughout the summer months to reach fruition. It is when we allow many of the garden spaces to rest and slowly meld with the fresh compost given for the vitality of next spring. Its also when we eat a ridiculous amount of chard and kale as they thrive in such conditions.

Even the animals slow down in accordance. Our seven feathered girls are laying a bit less, and sleeping in a bit more. Romo the Wonder Dog is happy to lounge for hours in the fallen maple leaves that carpet the lawn. So to, we find it just a little bit harder to get going early in the darkened mornings this time of year.

In reflection, it has been a wonderful growing season for us. Settling into this new space and creating all that we hoped for has been a shared blessing. The challenges of a newly made garden run rampant and is teaching us so much, tools we will use for next year. Its a labor of love and not always practical or cost effective in the beginning stages, but we both cherish having such a space to learn and grow with, and feel so fortunate to know this critical connection between our food, our earth and our being.

Happy Fall to everyone.