Is it Fall? Hell yes, it's Fall..... Just because it was 94 degrees out there today and you could barely breathe while walking across the asphalt in Walmart's parking lot, that doesn't take away from the fact that September 1st has come and gone. That's my official mark for the true beginnings of Fall.
That and the dry, crisp leaves starting to fall from the hardwood trees,
The river is so low that sometimes it is difficult for the ferry to give up its resting place on the bank.
The corn harvest is already ten days in and the farmers are working 16 hour days,
The soybeans have begun the yellow turn and it appears this year they will be dry enough to be harvested immediately following the corn,
The cantaloupe and rattlesnake melons are making a rally for their best producers are yet ahead of them,
The fall garden is in the ground and coming up quite lovely,
It's time to start making chili- White chicken chili that is,
The county has made their last pass on the sides of the road and the ditches, clearing the way for leaves and eventually snowfall,
Time for hot dog roasts and marshmallow campfires,
Soon to be time to leave the screen door open to listen to the tree frogs and the last of the circadians,
Fall is much faster than Summer,
It almost has an urgency,
The tractors are only silent long enough for the morning dew to evaporate,
Even though today's thermometer stated
94, preparations will very soon be made for the winter months.
Propane tanks will be checked and filled,
Wood chopped,
One last deep clean of the house before winters arrival,
Last of the night crawlers added to the compost pile,
The roasted pumpkin candles are in full on use, permiating the air with smells and remembrances of Thanksgiving,
Time for the bulls to be separated from the heifers so that no calves are born out of season,
This is how Fall begins in the country,
Even the smell begins to take on the musty odor of dried grass, corn stalks, and dusty earth,
Fall is my favorite season,
The cool wind on my arm that I hang out the window of the truck,
The decay of things of the earth, which eventually contributes to the birth of new crops, large and small,
Its not a time of death, just of rest, renewal and rebirth.
