Autumn nesting

If I had to choose one season to be my favorite, it would probably have to be fall. The colors of autumn make me feel joyful. The scent of fallen leaves and wisps of woodsmoke on the breeze energize me. And it makes me want to "nest." Suddenly I am polishing copper, putting candles everywhere, shining up my wood stove. I find myself garnishing things with gourds and Indian corn.

When I was a little girl, my friends Emily and Melanie and I would go to the meadow across from my house and run, arms spread, through tall patches of milk weed. The dried seed pods would spew forth thousands of tiny white umbrella topped seeds, which would float away on the October winds.

We would shriek with glee through chapped lips and store away memories that would linger for years.

And the food of fall! Time for stew and soups and plump loaves of bread rising on the counter. This year I experimented with making VATS of tomato sauce. I cooked up an entire bushel of tomatoes with peppers and onions and deliciousness. I now have bags of wonderful summer flavor nestled in my freezer. Surely this is some primal "instinct," putting food up for the coming cold season.

We have 4 cords of wood stacked and ready to warm us all winter. It feels good to know that come what may we'll not freeze! Perhaps it is the bounty of the season that appeals to me. The larder stocked full of food, the wood stacked high, piles of blankets clean and ready for the long, cozy nights ahead. I welcome every season and recognize their joys, but give me autumn. Give me the fullness of harvest and welcoming of a home readied for fall. Polished apples in a wooden bowl and the cry of migrating geese overhead. A flavor to cherish.