Ok. I have held it in long enough. I've tried, but I simply cannot do it any longer. I LOVE FALL! No, I seriously LOVE Fall. I love everything about it: the smells, the tastes, the chill in the air, the colors. Don't even get me started about the colors, y'all. These are MY colors. (I know I wear a lot of black and white, and that stems from a childhood fascination with nuns that is a whole 'nother blog altogether.) But these colors not only make me smile but they speak to my heart- the colors that God created basically JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO! Just a little show off moment for the trees that have given us shade, fed the air, served as a home to the birds, and now will replenish the earth with carbon with every deep, rich blessing that drifts to the ground below.  

Oh, this is quite the time to be alive on this planet and in the beautiful Commonwealth of Virginia.



                                              

The other day I was going by a corner lot where a pumpkin patch sets up and it wasn't there yet. I was worried that it wasn't going to come this year (Lord knows I don't need any pumpkins! He saw to that by blessing those vines beyond our expectation!) But I wanted the patch to be there- I wanted the hay bales and the gourds and the little red wagons the kids use to haul their treasures in. I wanted the bonfire that they light every evening and the maze they set up that winds around the big tent they work under. Just another change that I wasn't in tune with...Then I realized that it is still September...for a few more days. (They set up yesterday, by the way!) So all is good.

Now I realize I may be stepping on some toes here, those of you who want Summer to last all year long. You people who say that it can't get hot enough for you and who, for some unknown reason, actually love to sweat. I know: this is an East-coast resort area. I KNOW! OBX and VB and all that.
But, how can I say this nicely...GET OVER IT! This is Virginia and even though we don't get really cold, we have seasons and this one coming up is MINE. You had yours. It's MY turn and I am going to go bake some pumpkin stuff and light a pumpkin candle and make stew and chili and bake bread. Yeast bread and corn bread. So sorry for stepping on your toes but it's time you took the flip flops off anyway and put on some socks 'cause it's FALL!