As I walk into my house, I glance at the bright purple and yellow pansy wreath I hung next to the door last May. It doesn’t look right anymore. Too summery, Nuts! Is summer really coming to an end? I’m not quite ready to give in to this huge seasonal change.
But the sight of red moose maple leaves in the underbrush across the driveway forces me to admit that, yes, autumn is rearing its head, lovely or not. As more proof, the yellow of an occasional birch leaf floats through the air.
I wonder if other people go through this same stage, disbelieving that summer is ending, I shudder when people utter the dramatic words: “As soon as Fisherman’s Picnic is over, fall is here.” I argue that all of August is yet to come, but deep in my soul, I feel it too. No Fisherman’s Picnic this year, but the feeling is still there.
As I think about it, I begin to accept this annual seasonal change. I feel better and decide to take down the pansy wreath and hang up my early autumn decoration, which is a bronze sunflower. I store the flowery wreath in a box in the basement, wondering what the world will look like next spring when I take it out.
It occurs to me that the coming of autumn is a natural occurrence, and with this year’s unpredictability, it’s something I can count on. Feeling an unexpected surge of enthusiasm, I decide to take out the rest of my autumn stuff. I put up my autumn quilt hanging of red and yellow leaves on a black background and set out the wooden bowl decorated with painted pumpkins. I keep the string of pumpkin lights in storage. It really is too early for them, but in a few weeks, orange lights will be perfect.
I seriously begin to think of fall things: digging up potatoes, harvesting carrots, crisp air, bright blue skies, scarlet maples, purple asters in ditches, orange pumpkins, cornstalks and scarecrows, Halloween costumes, pumpkin pie and corn candy. I briefly consider baking an apple pie. The aroma of cinnamon and baking apples would be wonderful as it fills the house, but decide that would be too much.
After all, it’s only the end of August.
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