Saturday's Scribbles: Fall Has Arrived!

Last year's beauty 

It is the first day of Fall and the weather is cooperating with the change of seasons.  Our low last night was around 40 and we are enjoying dryer air, cooler temps, and sunshine today.  This is a nice change from earlier in the week when we received over six inches of rain, the river flooded and our large park was a lake.  A few streets were closed, including the river road that runs below our neighborhood.  It was completely covered with river water, but has receded quite a bit now.  Fall is beckoning us to step right in to the crisp clear air, cooler temperatures and amazing colors.  Oh how I love Autumn.

In this short season of  harvest, the geese flock, the birds gather, the squirrels store, and we humans begin preparing for what we know will come.......the white stuff.  It is also a season of Friday night football, and during home games we can hear the play by plays from our living room.  The high school is just across from the river so the sound carries well.  

Someone at the church where Joel is now working, gave us a large mum plant to enjoy.  Sturdy bright yellow buds will soon bloom.  Some of our plants are still showing off their beauty.  Especially the geraniums. 

Joel has had a very busy first week as he returned into the work force.  He is trying to set up a Confirmation program, and work out the kinks of having his main office at home.  Visits on Wednesday to a home receiving hospice and later driving an hour to a hospital for another member  brought with it a funeral for next Tuesday.  Between then and now are visits with the family, mortuary, a sermon to write and a service to officiate at, besides the two services at two churches tomorrow.  Yeah.....welcome back to the pastoral life.  If you think pastors only work one day a week?  Think again.

Getting back to fall.............this time of year reminds me of the year I went hunting with Joel.  This was before we were engaged and before Joel stopped hunting.  We went duck hunting which resulted in one landing dead right at my feet.....then while cleaning them we found out they had lice.  Creepy....crawly...... I tried to deer hunt with Joel and his parents ~ no gun for this novice though.  We  were down in a low brush area and I heard Joel's mom say she did not see where the buck they were tracking had gone, so I stood up, saw the deer, and loudly proclaimed...."There is is!"  Needless to say, the deer ran off and that was my last day hunting with them.  "City girls!"  I have shared before the story of squirrel hunting where the woods were were in was filled with garter snakes sunning themselves.  When we walked, they slithered and when we stopped they stopped and put up their heads.  I still have an aversion to snakes.  Joel, himself, had never seen anything like it.  And even though squirrel tastes alot like chicken it has only been eaten in this family one time.  That was enough!  

In case you did not hear me the first or second or third time.....I love Fall!   I sometimes think God created this perfect season to give us relief from the hot and humid summers and bitterly cold snowy winters. And there is harvest too. I just wish it lasted longer! 

So if in your corner of the world Autumn is showing off, enjoy it!  Take in the smells, the sounds, the colors and give thanks.  It is a season to give thanks, and for the first day of Fall we are doing so today!

Just Stay A Little Longer

local park 

It is a beautiful fall day here in our corner of the world.  The trees are showing off their vibrant colors as the sun shines in a clear blue sky.  The winds are bringing a chill, warning us of what is to come.  Snow.  I am already hearing the "B" word.... A Blizzard is a probability north of us in our homeland ~ Minnesota.  We could see 1-2 inches of the white stuff here.

I am not ready for it.  We were gone the month of September so it feels like Autumn was brief this year.............and yet November is almost upon us.  Each of the 4 seasons has something to offer, but I will always ask Autumn to stay a little longer.  We find the furnace days of Winter draining.  But they come and they go......just like the seasons of life.

During our prophetic session at Bethel, one of the ministers made a statement in his prayer that made both Joel and I laugh.  He said, "Lord, when they look in the mirror and see their old bodies, let them say, Thank you Lord for another 30 years ahead!"  We laughed because my forever positive and energetic hubby has said that to me before.  "We've got another 30 years together!".  That would make me "only" closing in on 100 and Joel nearly 102.

Attitude can be everything!  We know one man who speaks of how old he and his wife are on a daily basis.  How the nursing home beckons them, how at their age they should expect to be sick.  "Gotta die of something".  Life can be fragile for sure, but I don't know if I ever will hear my husband talk like that, and I am grateful.  He does not live in denial, but he does attempt to live each day with joy, finding gratitude in the small things.........like the colors of Fall....the ducks flying overhead, the squirrels burying their food for winter.

Autumn beauty

I hope you are able to take a moment to feel the leaves crunch under your feet, see the vibrant colors as Autumn shows off her beauty, smell the crisp air, and listen to the ducks and geese flying through the sky.  Fall is soon leaving, and we will hold only memories as winter settles in.  So for today, I am embracing Autumn and even as snow looms, I plead with her as I would a loved one who comes to visit .....stay....just stay a little longer.

our living room view

neighborhood tree

Autumn Preparations

Our backyard is covered with locust leaves, while our Maple and a few other neighborhood trees hold on tightly to their beauty.  Gold, orange, green, and brown.....my favorite colors of Autumn.

Our favorite neighborhood tree

The squirrels scurry through the crisp leaves blanketing the ground, looking for tidbits to bury as they prepare for what is coming.  Winter.  A few days ago our trees were filled with robins gathering for their journey South.  We are seeing a lot more geese, too.  Eating in our association field, filling our skies with their beauty, and the sounds.....oh my.  We had to chuckle as one with a cold flew over us. He had to have had a cold, because he sounded all plugged up and throaty!  The only thing missing was the cough.

Nature is in preparation.  And so, I have observed, is our neighborhood..  In between raking yards, trees are being trimmed, windows cleaned, and snowblowers and furnaces are getting a readiness check-up.  One neighbor is quickly building a 3 season and just had the house painted.  Rakes are out, gardens winterized, and eves cleaned.  Soon Joel will fix our neighbor's basement window covers, he has already started the endless process of bagging leaves in our front yard. It is mid October so there is still time to get ready, but being prepared is a good idea. Snow can surprise us in October too.

It is always good to be prepared for the winter seasons.  In nature and in life. I have been re-reading Rick Renner's book, "Dressed to Kill", which speaks of putting on the full armor of God in preparation for what comes our way.  Those winter seasons that can take so much out of us.  Just how do we prepare?  In so many ways!!  Besides the armor the Word speaks of in Ephesians, Sunday worship services, Bible Study and reading, connections with fellow church members, devotions, and devoted prayer times are ways we prepare for any winter seasons that come our way.  And remembering.....remembering that God is always with us.  We do not walk through life alone.

I am not looking forward to winter, but we will be prepared for whenever it comes.  I don't look forward to those winter seasons that come into our lives either, but we do what we can to prepare and we trust God with the rest.  We trust God and we remember "Lo, I am with you always...."

And speaking of the earth, we continue to take in Autumn and all it's vibrant colors while getting ready for winter white.  Such beauty to feast our eyes on, including the porch pumpkins.  We took in so much of Autumn while driving last week to various parts of Minnesota.  God certainly uses His artist brush lavishly in the Fall.  And for that we are grateful.

Autumn: What's Not To Like?!

signs of fall on a rainy day.....

In the midst of a heat wave, someone on Facebook asked an interesting question a few weeks ago....."What sound do you like?" The question brought to mind my favorite time of year.......Fall!  I love the sounds, colors and smells of fall, so I decided to spend time thinking about my favorite season.

I don't think I could ever tire of the beautiful sounds that come with Autumn.  The sounds of the crisp yellow, gold and brown leaves blowing in the wind have their own song.  The squirrels running through the grass blanketed by leaves causes a distinct rustling noise.  The geese flying overhead give fair warning of what is coming.  Even the wind sounds different to me in the fall.  It is a time of year I wish lasted for 6 months, but there is purpose for the four seasons.  It is one of the special gifts of living in the Midwest, having four different seasons every year.

Winter brings it's own silence.  Snow falls quietly, the mounds of white seem to insulate us from too many sounds, but the howling winds in a storm, and the crunch of snow under our feet.  We often hunker down here, bringing out afghans, wool slippers, and warm clothes, along with puzzles, books waiting for attention, and the TV.

Spring is usually damp and sloppy, but welcomed!  Birds return and grace us with their special greetings and the squirrels run across our roofs at random.  Rain is heard as it nourishes the land and soaks into the thawing ground.  An owl hoots outside our window at night.  The trees bud and lilacs bloom.  Neighbors shake off their winter doldrums and seek the out of doors once again.  Greetings are often more of a conversation, instead of a quick hi as we rush inside.

Summer explodes with color, fresh air, planting and growing. The birds chatter and sing constantly, delighted to grace our world with the creator's goodness. We have a resident wren that delights us here with songs of love and new life. The sound of children playing reminds me of when our kids were young and embracing the freedom of lazy, hazy days.  Porch sitting makes the sounds of summer enjoyable, except when the heat and humidity drives us inside where we listen to the hum of the air conditioner.

We are in the beginning of Fall now with the crisp nights and dry warm days.  I love it~!  Most snow birds who live in the heat of the desert leave when temperatures hit 100.  They head back to summer green and cooler temps but I think I would prefer coming back in the fall when I could enjoy my favorite season of all.  Autumn.  It brings with it a deep sigh and the question....."what's not to like"??