No gettin' around it... fall is here.

I wandered around a bit today. Picked the last three figs from the tree, and noticed that they were chilly instead of warm from the sun. I savored them while walking to the mint patch to make a good swipe at the meadow tea (spearmint) and fuzzy (apple) mints. We're expecting lots of rain over the next couple of days, and this may have been the last crack at them before frost nips their leaves.
Everywhere I looked, there were single, final attempts at blooming; that one last valiant try at casting seed.
Tomato plants still budding... A tattered and tenacious morning glory... Lavender that just won't quit... A small cuke growing amid dry, dusty leaves... A smallish deeply colored lone bloom of anise hyssop... A single little pink, visible from across the yard... A meager tuft of hydrangea struggles over the dried flowerheads... A tiny bit of purple beams in the middle of the faded butterfly bush... In some ways this is a relief. The last 6 or 8 weeks have been filled with manic harvesting and preserving in spaces of time snatched from between getting the magazine out, the Balms & Salves book out, the busiest couple of months Sis's soap business has seen in 10 years, and now By the Hearth is nearing completion. Whew! Yep, I'm happy to see fall tumble in.
Here comes the cocooning season, when we can really play with new crafts or recipes. Books can be read at leisure. Maybe some time to visit with friends or do some real writing, rather than cramming in an article here or there.

And Autumn is beautiful too... Oranges, reds, and golds will glow in the sun beneath the special blue sky that only really shows itself at this time of year. Pumpkin pie - need I say more? And the time to relax and enjoy all the wonderful things we've dried and saved for this part of the year. Now, once I get the holy basil that is on sheets upstairs cleaned and jarred, it will be play time!
Well... and get the book out... And a bunch of other stuff. But seriously, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It comes every year about this time!