Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Today Feels Like Fall :: Two Hundred Eighty

Our Mediterranean climate is mild, lovely for year-round gardening, and even winter beach days, but when it comes to finding changes of season... well, we have to look more closely, appreciate the subtlety, and savor the moments, which may be quite fleeting. Today feels like fall. The market had this display, and the air was cool enough, breezy, too, so that I sighed nostalgically at the sight, recalling my childhood and the sheer thrill of seeing pumpkins, gourds, pretty corn, and funny squashes. It recalls caramel apples, and apple cider, the imminent arrival of adored holidays, treats, celebrations, and comforting home traditions. Here come jack-o-lanterns, roasted pumpkin seeds, candle light, moonlight, long nights, shadows, the call of owls, an extra layer of something soft on the bed, socks on morning floors, hoping for rain, looking for colors in the trees. Tomorrow it may heat up, again, we may feel a wistful longing to go out in search of a maple forest... but today, we can feel fall, close to home.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

And close to home, we brought fall into the chicken run. Leaves and pine needles, all swept up and tossed in a heap for the goats to chomp and the chickens to rummage through. Our direct mulch-compost system has been a brilliant success. The farm yard gets a no-cost ground cover and nesting material, and eventually, the garden will be supplemented with a lovely amendment.








Ta-da! I am so tickled about this layout app I added to my phone, and this, plus our new Instagram account, has me fairly giddy with delight! I am slow to the party, I realize, but I am enjoying the fun.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Autumn has definitely arrived here in the south of England. The mornings are chilly but we're enjoying the most beautiful sunny days. Today's there's a bit of a breeze, sufficient to send some silver birch confetti onto the grass and confuse poor Flora Puddleduck when a leaf dares to land on her back, and the sky is as clear and blue as it's possible to be. Not a cloud in the sky. The sun was warm on my back as I strolled around the farm with the collies this afternoon - sloes, hawthorn berries and rosehips in the hedgerows and the farmer has sown a crop of winter wheat. I just LOVE Autumn!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Your Autumn sounds positively dreamy! We already have special travel plans for this Autumn, but you are inspiring me to think of making other plans, for another fall!