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September 22, 2021: Autumn

It’s now fall. Spring and summer went by way too fast. Autumn now seems earlier than usual. Must be climate change, the seasons changing faster.

We had our first killer frost last night. The other frosts that we’ve had were just frost foreplay. It was really cold last night, and this morning there was frost on the ground. The outdoor plants, they really took a beating.

And so, I layered up this morning, I donned two pairs of long underwear bottoms, and a long underwear top and a Carhartt coat. I also wore a hat and mismatched gloves. I wore my rubber boots, but even so, my toes were cold.


I thought the sun would warm things up. It stayed cold all day, temperatures remained in the 20s. I thought, I’m just not ready for this. Fall used to be my favorite season. This was before I knew any better. The onset of fall precedes winter, now my least favorite season. (There are only four to choose from.)

There was a slight breeze that sprang up around 2 p.m. Orange leaves were skittering everywhere. The leaves were so bright that it hurt the eyes. I could feel my pupils dilating.

I used to love the smell, the sight, the sound of fall (the latter, leaves crunching under foot. While I remain awed by the change, I am aware that the leaves turning color is a harbinger of change.

We seem to be perpetually frantic around here – there is always something that needs doing. Spring, garden preparation. Summer, garden maintenance. Fall, the projects center around clean up.

The first thing Pete said this morning was that the hay sheds would need to be cleaned out, in preparation for hay storage. After he said this, I could not get back to sleep. I started, in my mind, to sort and organize the stuff in the left-hand side of what we call Tinni’s shed. I got up, and after cleaning the pen, I did some pre-breakfast organizing by putting the fencing materials in the greenhouse, up where the basil used to be. It is now on the window counter in front of the kitchen table.

I didn’t get much further, but in my head I continued to organize. Tomorrow, I’ll put the horse blankets that are in this shed and the larger shed into the horse trailer. I was wanting to hold off on this, thinking that perhaps I’d get in at least one off-property trail ride. I do have an alternative place in mind for them though.

I am still needing to access and tend to the items behind the shed. And I’d like to tidy up the outhouse. Will I get these things done before the first snowfall? It is anyone’s guess; this is going to be a race against time. The snow on the mountains (called “termination dust”) has been getting lower and lower is now well below tree line.

Well, I suppose the golden lining in this situation is that we continue not to have to deal with very hot conditions. This would be something to truly complain about.

263. 9/23/21: Blustery

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