Today it finally hit me. It’s over. Summer is over. Fall is here and winter is on its heals.
You’d think I would have figured this out when the colors peaked a few weeks ago, but it was 85 degrees then. It made it easy to deny the change in seasons. Honestly, that whole thing, as much as I loved the continued warmth, kind of freaked me out. It was creepy for a couple of reasons. Partly because warm winds, shorts and fall color do not go hand-in-hand in Minnesota. The other reason is that although Doctors couldn’t figure out what exactly I had when I was sick. The first thing that came to mind when they would ask me when it all started was a memory of a warm windy day back in August of 2009 when I had a reunion with a bunch of my college girl friends and their families. The same winds blew through then and I remember being chilled. Granted I didn’t realize I was running a fever until weeks after that, but that windy day in August was what stood out in my mind. So the warm, windy days a few weeks ago made me incredibly uncomfortable to say the least. Much as I love a beautiful breeze, I’ve come to really dislike wind. If people could put up hackles, mine were definitely up. When out in the wind I even envisioned putting up my arms in a defensive position to try to fend off catching something again.
Anyway, as I took one of the dogs for a walk early this morning, I stepped out the door to my favorite weather and my favorite season. The frost on the leaves, flowers and grasses was stunning as it sparkled in the early morning sunlight. The air was so crisp and so refreshing. Although the color is past peak a few trees are still hanging onto their leaves and I completely understand why, they’re just too beautiful to let go of.
While I took every ounce of it in as much as I could I still had mixed emotions. The growing season is over. Oh, there are still a few raspberries clinging to their canes, shrub roses continuing to bloom and ornamental grasses dancing in the breeze like ladies in ball gowns.
But as a gardener, its with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to another season that flew by way too fast.
So while I love fall and look forward to more crisp morning walks, you won’t catch me rolling out the red carpet for winter. In fact, you just may see my hackles standing up again. (Hey, I said I was finally acknowledging the inevitable – NOT welcoming the inevitable!)
Kate
Walnuts n Pears 