Falling

Though it is my busiest time of year, I find the activities of Fall to be irresistible. So much so, that the season competes heavily with Summer as my favorite time of year.

Though the days get progressively shorter, the light becomes increasingly luscious and, the air, a rich mixture of old and new. Summer’s activities that seem to scatter members of the household to and fro give way to a gathering of hearts around the hearth and home. And traditions, rich and detailed, occupy the free hours of the depleting days. I simply would love more time to celebrate this season of splendor.

Witnessing the evolution of nature’s palette as it morphs from vivid greens to gilded and fire-laced tones that would please the eye of any master painter. Walks where every step is marked by the textured crunch of the scattered specks of nature’s bounty. Then raking those very leaves into neat piles only so that they can be disrupted once again by boundless leaps and laughter.

Then there are the debates among family members over the superiority of apple versus pumpkin pie. It is an eternal argument because to solve it would mean to sever the need to amply sample the subjects of the debate. And hoisting a daughter into an apple tree so that another pie can be made and the great debate can be carried forth.

Today, we did all of these magical things in a most special place. With Bonnie on the East Coast with her parents, the girls, the pups and I spent a blissful Saturday at the home of my sister and her husband. If anyone understands how to embrace and embellish the the traditions of the Fall season, it is Patricia and John.

I am thankful for a day of delight that was sorely needed.

THE QUESTION FOR YOU: Apple or Pumpkin?.....inquiring minds want to know!