Fall

And now it's most definitely fall. For this brief bit of time, the season is balanced. Fully itself. Caught between where it has come from and where it will eventually go. Everywhere I look there is evidence of fall. Where better to notice these changes than in the food that surrounds us. Apples on the counter. Banana bread. Cauliflower cheese soup. Each vegetable in this week's produce basket was filled with fall. No more lingering tomatoes. It's all cauliflower and fennel. Cabbage, not salad mix. Celery root has made it's second appearance. Fall.

The leaves have changed. Many have fallen. Bare trees, those first to turn last month, share space with other trees only now just changing their colors. Some of the neighbors have been raking for a few weeks now. I'm lucky that our oak tree is comparatively late to drop its leaves. We will have red leaves in our front yard for the next few weeks. Yellow leaves from our maple blanket the backyard lawn. My plans to mow one last time gone now that the rain has begun in earnest. Fall.

And it's looking for indoor spaces. Indoor time. Sunshine but mostly rain. Crisp leaves underfoot. It's carrying hats and gloves wherever we go. It's boots. It's darkness beginning each day earlier than the day before. I breathe deeply the crisp, cool air. I let it sink into me. For this moment, just for this moment. It is simply fall. Fall.