I saw the first Monarch Butterfly today. I always rejoice when I see them because it means that summer is drawing to a close. While I love parts of summer: gardening, Livvie playing in the pool... fall is my favorite season.When I was a kid I waited every year for the smell of mouldering leaves. Every October I would be ecstatic, because Halloween was coming. It wasn't about the candy. It was about the smell in the air and the crispness and the apples about to become a pie.
Since I've moved to NC I've lost a great deal of that. The air here doesn't begin to cool down until about mid-October, and the leaves don't really start falling until then either. Fall here is quick, it lasts about a month, before the wetness and dreariness of winter arrives. It's the only thing I don't like about living here.
In a month or so I will start pruning my plants back and mulching them for the winter. I will start laying in supplies of apples and oatmeal to make apple crisp (I usually don't buy apples out of season). I'll buy more molasses to make spice cookies. I'll be putting out corn for the deer. And for now, I'll be watching for more monarchs to make my day complete.
