farewell to summer....

Ever since I decided to seriously consider relocating to another state, I've been taking special care to create memories of Iowa.  In taking the time to really look at my home and memorize all of its aspects, I've found a new beauty in what I've always taken for granted.  Take this morning for example.  Last year I would have complained about the drizzly haze that was hovering over the ground, making it darker than usual in the mornings.  I would have muttered about how the seasons are flying by without my having the time to enjoy the mild autumn weather....but not today.  This morning I looked out at the horizon and saw a misty cloud hovering over the recently harvested cornfields.  You could see the remains of the cornstalks marching off into the murky distance with scattered black dots of the cattle interpersed between the rows.  (When harvesting it isn't possible to get every ear of corn into the machine, so farmers often move their livestock into cornfields to "clean up" as well as get some good grain.)  In town, I could see the streetlights glowing faintly in the distance and the outlines of buildings were a sharp, stark contrast the to the enveloping softness of a fall drizzle.  Black skeletal outlines of the trees were vivid in the half-light of dawn.  I hadn't realized that so many trees had shed all of their leaves.  Their branches waved in the breeze as if saying farewell to summer.  Plants and grasses are now going dormant as they prepare to rest for the winter.  I know I'll have to cut down the lilies and irises this weekend.  Their leaves have become faded and scraggly as the roots slow down their feeding patterns.  Only my tomatoes haven't given up the ghost quite yet and are still producing new fruit.  My backyard is full of leaves and I know I'll spend an hour out there this weekend raking them into the compost pile, only to repeat that action every week for the next few months.  Everything is preparing for hibernation and I'm finding it difficult to resist the same temptation.  I'm already thinking of winter craft projects to tackle and have found a new energy for picking up ones I had stored away last spring.  Many people cry and complain about the last few warm days remaining but there is a beauty in seeing the fading of life before me.  This is the time of year I pull out my Celtic or Country Western music for zoning out during the drive to work.  This is the time when I crave hayrides, fall festivals, funnel cakes, and pumpkin pie.  Even my houseplants are going dormant for a few months.  This is Mother Nature's way of taking a well-deserved nap and the sense of renewal that appears every spring makes the winter seem almost bearable.  Just as a burned field grows better the following season so does the farmland after a good winter's rest (and snowfall to restore the water tables).  I suppose I'll just have to put up with the frigid cold winds that come rushing down out of Canada, retreat into my warm house, and only come out to have snowball fights with my main man Kyle & the rest of his hoodlum gang, and to scrape the snow off of the sidewalks so students can walk to school.  :)