HAPPY FALL YA'LL

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;  A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;  A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;  A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Out of the four seasons... Spring and Fall are my very favorite.  Fall in the flat lands of North Carolina is an incredible site - but nothing to compare to my childhood home in the mountains of West Virginia.  Fall colors seem much more intense there!  Multicolored leaves illuminate the trees with splashes of crimson, fiery red, burgundy, rust, ruddy orange, brown, and gold, as if to give their final farewells before retiring for winter, and a sense of solitude is in the air. Each deciduous tree, each bush, strutting its own autumn wardrobe.  When it's quiet and lovely like this, it really makes me reflect.  Fall has its unique events and sights, sounds and smells.  Here is a potpourri of my "fall" reflections:

Sun lower in the sky, shorter days, cooler temperatures, less humidity, warm winds from the south, chilly winds from the north, nippy mornings on the porch with steaming hot flavored coffee, warm afternoons.  Sitting around a fire at night, roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate.  Visiting with friends over a cup of mulled cider.

Roasting Turkey, family gatherings, candied sweet potatoes, hot apple pie.  Momma making applebutter.  Candy corn, gummy orange slices, Halloween candy,  caramel apples on a stick.  

Mulching, pruning, planting bulbs.  The last mowing of the lawn.  Dry cornstalks rustling in the wind and black birds feasting on their bounty.  Leaves falling and the smell of burning leaves.  Mums, scare crows, fodder, pumpkins, and haystacks.  Kids running through and playing in crispy fallen leaves. Combines in the fields.

First day of school, Friday night High School football games, popcorn, and hot dogs.  Country County Fairs, State Fair, funnel cakes topped with powered sugar and chocolate.  Exhibit blue ribbons, livestock, and horse shows.  

Packing up the summer clothes and bringing out warmer ones.  Longer sleeves, sweaters, light jackets, flannel sheets.  

Geese honking their goodbyes as they fly off in the "V" formation.  Flocks of birds... numbering in the hundreds headed south.  Snakes and frogs looking for a hole for slumber.  The groundhog burrowing a little deeper.

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!  

I hope such joy and beauty, such stability and changeability, such surprises and routines, thrills your soul as it does mine.  God's blessings to you as you enter this "SEASON" of your life.