Fall is my very favorite time of the year. The sun is still warm, but the air takes on a fresh tang it didn't have during the summer. The breezes bring more delights than before; ripening apples, decomposing leaves, a bracing chill you can almost take a bite out of in the evenings. The kids go back to school, and I spend lots of time in folding chairs on soccer fields watching them kick butt and take names.
When the leaves begin to change, I really hit my stride, taking hundreds of photos, because I live in the most beautiful place in the Universe, especially in the Fall. They're just starting to turn now. You can catch a whisper of red underlying the green on the hills and mountains all around us, and here and there, a bright red sugar maple or mustard yellow poplar who was just too eager to wait for the rest.
We have campfires on the back lawn in the fall. Daisy loves them. When we do our morning and evening walks around the property, she now shortcuts directly to the fire pit, finds a comfy spot and lies down, asking us in doggy-speak, “Fire now, please?) Niblet hates them. She paces from one of us to the other, silently saying, “This is not our normal routine! This cannot be tolerated. It's dark, we belong indoors.” Dozer's cool whatever we do, as long as he can be near us. When the flames flare high and hot, he often plods over to place himself firmly between me and the fire, just in case.
I know it's only the first week of September, but I'm getting the urge to decorate for Fall. The Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, falls on the 22nd this year, and we often celebrate with Thanksgiving-like feasts and a complete focus on gratitude and appreciation. Then we'll have Halloween, the kids and costumes and tricks and treats, witches and spooks galore, followed by its forebear, Samhain, when we honor our beloved dead and visit with them.
I'm planning to get big spooky eyes to cover two upstairs windows that face the road. I want some pretty multicolored corn and fall themed wreaths for the doors. My Halloween village gets to come downstairs to take center stage in the living room, and we'll add to it, as we do every year. Cauldrons bubbling with mist will line the fireplace, and my light up skull will sit between them. And I'll pick up a few new pieces to add as we go along.
We don't get trick-or-treaters, because we live so far out in the country. We buy chocolate every year, just in case, and then eat it ourselves. And it's a fine time for divination. I love reading tarot cards and trying to catch a glimpse into the future. You know they say the Veil Between the Worlds is at it's thinnest this time of year.
I'd love to hear about your fall traditions and see pictures of your decorations.