Before Winter

Preparing for Winter has the property buzzing with tasks. It’s a messy time…

…after the wonder of all the brightly colored leaves fades…

…when the redwood cones draping the lawn looks less magical and more of reminder of chores to be done.

The grass is left a little long and the Summer garden tomatoes have browned and fallen over. After the last blazing heatwave of Autumn has passed, there is a time of transition.

Shaving goats, weather proofing, trimming trees, splitting firewood- chores with a side of anticipation for rainy days stuck inside with hot coffee and a good book. We collect redwood pine cones for potpourri.We dehydrate lemons. We plant garlic.

We work. We anticipate Winter. And we wait.

We wait for chilly days fueled by a roaring fire and the excitement of a brand new seed catalog. We wait for power outages lit by candlelight and time to read books all afternoon. We wait for muddy floors from boots that should have been taken off outside. We wait for cozy knitted blankets on the couch. We wait for sleeping early and waking to a cold house. We wait for the warm glow from the oven holding fresh baked bread.

Then we wait for the anticipation for Spring.