The Colors of Fall

We are surrounded by the colors that are fall in our own little yard year after year.

There’s an abundance of seeds in the garden, signaling both the end of the harvest and the promise that there’ll be new plants in the spring. 

There’s a beauty to the end of life that is apparent in the garden — another lesson that God has nestled into his creation, if we’ll only take the time to look.

Not much beauty in the outward appearance of these pods, but inside are shiny, hard, beautiful seeds that feel sleek and full of life in one’s hands.

The coolness of fall has given some plants exactly what they need to produce a final spurt of growth, giving us just a bit more of the taste of the bounty of the garden before she goes to sleep for the winter.

Michaela and I have loved reading Farmer Boy and we smile at our own tiny garden and what we consider large work when we think of Almanzo. 

The little red seeds that Almanzo and Alice planted had grown into two hundred bushels of carrots.  Mother could cook all she wanted, and the horses and cows could eat raw carrots all winter.

Annie loves the cool fall days, running around the garden and enjoying being a puppy who’s the center of everyone’s attention.

I love the colors of nature.  I love the mystery of every single plant.  What it is capable of?  What can it be used for?

The amazignly tall lamb’s quarter is hanging full of seeds.  They are quite lovely.

Fall — caught between summer and winter, fullness and death.  There’s no lack of color in fall and no lack of interesting artifacts for children’s pockets and mother’s basket.

Though early spring is the violet’s normal showtime, this little violet has decided to bloom in the fall.  Nearly covered by leaves, her bright color jumped out immediately, letting us know she was there.

Under the arugula, a little brown snake was coiled up, perhaps thinking about where to spend the soon-to-come cold months of winter.

We are enjoying the slow-down feeling of autumn here and our leaf-gathering walks.  Michaela has found some huge leaves to press.  She has discovered that they are sycamore leaves.

Farmer Boy has been the perfect read aloud as we entered autumn.  It has made us very hungry each night at bedtime,  but also filled us with ideas for upcoming holidays and family gatherings.  It has reaffirmed my interest in eating as much as possible from one’s own land and the bountry of nature.

When Alice came home from school she smelled Almanzo, and she cried out, “Oh, you’ve been eating wintergreen berries!

…they went on their hands and knees all over those south slopes, and they ate wintergreen berries all afternoon.

Almanzo brought home a pailful of the thick, green leaves, and Alice crammed them into a big bottle.  Mother filled the bottle with whisky and set it away.  That was her wintergreen flavoring for cakes and cookies. 

May you have a wonderful October Tuesday.
Lynn