Fall in love with fall

By: 
Leslie Silverman
I keep saying what an amazing fall this has been. And then I need to check myself, because it's barely started! I think for some people fall begins when kids go back to school. For others it’s when pigskin makes its way back to the field. For others it’s when nights are cool and days get shorter .But scientifically it was Sept 22. this year.
I have two beautiful trees outside my home that are showing me their true colors. One is a mustard yellow with a faded lime green. The other is an orange yellow. Both take my breath away. 
As I drive down South Rockerville Road I seem to focus more on the leaves than the curves, which is quite a danger, because the cows are still grazing.
My turkey flock is back! The babies are all grown up and they come through two to three times a day pecking for food all around. It’s a true fall delight when they walk past my two leaf changing trees! They are some of the only birds that frequent my land this time of year. And I enjoy that quiet. Spring can be too noisy which chirps, trills, buzzes and even hammers filling the air.
I have already picked out a day to go pick a pumpkin. I think it’s the only real disappointment I have living in the Hills—that there are very few true pumpkin patches. I don’t want to pick a pumpkin from a bin at Wallyworld or even from a “patch” at a greenhouse.
I want to go out with a wagon and pick them from a vine. I’m looking for one that has character but still looks good. It can be imperfect, oblong or even blemished. But it still needs to have that carving potential nature. I called several places within a two-hour radius to find a place where I could actually pick a pumpkin on a vine. There are several East River, but here it’s hard to find.
When I lived in New England I would  drive for hours each year to go to the pumpkin festival in Keene, N.H. It was quite a sight to see thousands of jack-o- lanterns taking over the town. I don’t know why a town here doesn’t do this? (hint hint). It was the place to celebrate the season.
My husband, who I just celebrated a quarter of a year anniversary with, has never carved a pumpkin, nor picked one off the vine. I’m shocked by both. Even my dog Sadie has gone pumpkin picking with me! 
Badger is learning there are certain traditions I romanticize, and pumpkin picking is one of them, even though it can often be freezing, windy, rainy, snowy or even sultry. 
I am finding as I get older fall is becoming my favorite season. Summer is too hot for me and winter too dark. Spring usually means allergy season for me. But fall is a transition, from hot to cold, from light to dark, with seemingly no conflict to my senses. It’s a time when my oven and fireplace can be turned on, when I can sip a hot tea and feel comforted, when my windows can be open at night. When the dew glazes over the grass. When the tourists are gone. (did you hear that tourists?) When our lone traffic light gets shut off.
And for some odd reason I often think of fall as a new beginning even though most think of it as an end. It’s a time, for me personally, when I tend to begin new habits. I began to meditate daily again just as fall was ushered in. It’s a practice my mind really missed, as it helps me to be calmer, think more clearly and sleep more soundly. I think the idea of colder, shorter days can sometimes bring with it a lot of anxiety—not having as much time to be outdoors, having added chores of snow removal, more stress of children being back to school and the constant activity that presents. So it seemed fitting to add this new but yet old trick to my bag, as a way of easing anxiety before it may creep up. 
I hope that this new season is as much of a joy for you as it is for me. I hope the rustling leaves, the fading light and the crisp air helps you all to fall in love with fall.
 

User login