Vroooomph. Swoosh.
Like flipping a switch. Hey summer! Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry? Don’t let the screen door hit ya on your way out!
The day before the equinox was warm and sticky; that evening, the front came through.
And zoomph, summer turned to fall.
A series of hot, increasingly humid days that had me on my last nerve, feeling sullen and mopey and listless and just purely fed up, ended with the sweep of a cold front and a few days of blessed, welcome, much-needed rain.
Eighty degree temperatures are in the rear view now, and as the temperature drops, my mood improves. It’s weird how instantaneous it was, me snapping out of my funk when the heat finally broke and the rains came. And now I can’t stop smiling every time I check the 10 day forecast and find that 74 degrees (F, of course) is the highest predicted temperature for the foreseeable future, with several days expected to peak in the mid to high 60’s. Bliss!
And while I’m not one of those people who puts up orange lights and stacks the front porch with pumpkins before sunset on the first official day of fall, I’m relishing upcoming trail rides, leaf-peeping, pumpkin-patching, and butternut-squash-soup-making.
Because I’m an old retired lady, Angelic Daughter and I can now jump in the car and head out to the countryside any day we want to go–no more waiting for weekends or approval of time off requests. Just check the forecast, make a trail ride reservation, lock up the house, and skedaddle.
I don’t analyze why fall makes me feel so good: there isn’t time for that. But there’s time to enjoy the side effects. My burst of energy has me cleaning, exercising, and tidying up both inside and out. I ripped out the summer squash and zucchini and put in spinach, beets, and peas, the latter already sprouting merrily. I assaulted a big buckthorn bush in the southeast corner of the yard and packed it all into yard waste bags to be hauled away. Only 75% of the back fence area to go!
I got a jump on “sober October,” and also purged the kitchen of sugary indulgences that seemed necessary when I was stuck in the ennui of what felt like a never-ending summer. Buh-bye! I’m anticipating a swift reduction in the “bullshit weight” I packed on when my Big Birthday celebration morphed into an extended swamp of self indulgence. Nearly three pounds already gone in as many days. I’m on a roll, baby.
I’ve kept my MeetUp group on a grueling schedule of an event a week, occasionally two, which has generated expectations. But it’s fun for me to research stuff for us to do and figure out how to fit that in between my sacred fall excursions with Angelic Daughter.
This season is so fleeting I need to squeeze everything I can out of it before the grey of November sets in. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holiday season, and the perils of self-indulgence it brings. But October is my happy place, all the more dear because of how ephemeral it is.
If you’ve been with me for a few years, you know I write about this every year (I’ve collected my Fall Excursion posts on my Best of Ridiculouswoman page – check it out!) As the years go by the time becomes even more precious. Who knows how much longer I’ll be able to make those drives, get on those horses, and traipse through orchards and pumpkin patches? October is a lesson in living in the now, and appreciating every moment, every breath, every new morning when you open your eyes and realize you’re alive! You’re here! Tune out the negative noise and drink in that October blue sky, that slanty buttery light, and every turning leaf.
I’ll dig out Mom’s favorite poem, I’ll take a mini-pumpkin to Mike’s grave, I’ll quote that tired but true line from Anne of Green Gables — “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” — and yes, we’ll get pumpkins, but not until October is officially here. And then the 31 days of gratitude, contentment, and wonder begin, to be savored and snapshotted and stored in my heart until next year, when, God willing, we’ll do it all again.
With a fridge full of apples and a head full of hay bales, corn stalks, and yes, maybe even pumpkin-spice-and-everything-nice, I remain,
your energized, soon-to-be-trail-riding, butternut-squash-soup-making, and ((WARNING! next link is for adults only, and NOT FOR those who get the vapors over profanity!), decorative gourd displaying,
Ridiculouswoman
Thanks for the upbeat post. As far as aging and time go, just keep on keeping on even if it is at a slower pace!