Saturday, October 1, 2011

Ramblings...


Me-oh-my, October 1st?! Where has this year flown to? Perhaps the arrow-trails of geese have gathered up the passing months and are yanking them away back to whence they came earlier this spring. Does time seem to take on a more urgent tone to you too this time of year, or does it only seem to me that each grain of sand is emptying at a more rapid pace?

Autumn is such a conundrum... there are so many things that need to be accomplished quickly in this short season, and the need is real, for we know what lurks just around the next turn! Yet for all the compelling compulsiveness to get it all done, there is also that desire to just appreciate autumn's sheer, albeit brief, beauty... to savor slowly each painted leaf, every frost etching, each red-cheeked apple, the last of the garden's offerings, before all is tucked under a blanket of snow.

To me, there is too much of this one season to relish in too-short a time; it's akin to stuffing a treasurebox to overflowing and trying to fasten the lid down without springing the hinges and spilling the carefully-gathered contents out onto the floor. I need to clean the barn out and snuggle it in with fresh shavings and straw before the snow flies, but I want to drive the backroads and photograph graying old barns and abandoned houses amidst the riot of gold and russet foilage before all the leaves are shaken from the trees. I need to dig up the rest of the carrots and pick the collards and kale to dry, but instead I gather more apples and make apple pizza, applesauce and apple pancakes just because it makes the house smell so heavenly. I really should pull up and weed out the gardens, but it would be such a shame to let a lovely afternoon slip by without a walk through the woods, or maybe I'll take the kayak out just one last time...

And so it goes, not just with this one season, but with every season... to find a good balance between doing what must be done, yet also making time to enjoy what is waiting to be appreciated. The more years that pass by me, the more I try to make time for those simple things that bring such unexpected gifts... things we adults don't pay much attention to now that we're all grown up; how early-morning fog across the valley makes you feel you are standing at the edge of the ocean, how lovely a field of dried grasses and wildflowers look sheathed in frost, how much fun it is to iron leaves between wax-paper, and how difficult it is to try and count the geese in that flock flying overhead.

So I will take that walk, and I will get the garden weeded and put to bed as well! And no-one but me, myself, and I will know in which order it happened!

10 comments:

  1. Oh friend, I have become a bad blogging person lately, because I will read posts and not leave comments! :) I had to this morning because I so enjoyed the last two paragraphs of this post. They serve as a great reminder. Sometimes I am almost anxious about the fact that days are just skipping by me, and I believe the trick to 'slowing time down' is to completely relish those moments....if this makes any sense! ;)

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  2. Laura,
    Your blog looks beautiful! Can't believe you've never had sweet potato pie! It's my favorite! Hope you try my recipe!

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  3. Cheyenne, we are all guilty of reading blogs and not commenting! This time of year seems so busy, it can't be helped!
    Your trick certainly does make sense, and I too feel panic-y at times when I think of how time is passing. I try to focus on the moment at hand and savor it.... trying not to look ahead til I have to!
    Take care, Cheyenne, thank you for stopping by, and hug your little ones tight!

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  4. Sharon, I will give it a try; perhaps at Thanksgiving time. I do love sweet potatoes, so I'm sure it'll be delish!
    Have you ever had Shoo-Fly Pie? I have been wanting to try that, but I don't know anyone who's actually eaten or made one! Food for thought, I guess!!!

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  5. Shoo-Fly pie dear Laura is really sweet! Have never made it because it is really, really sweet and The Herbal Husband and I shouldn't have it any more. We almost always share a piece when we are in Amish country! Love your music and the scenery! xxoo Nancy

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  6. Oh dear, Nancy... than I shall love it! I have looked at the recipe, and it seems to me it would taste like a pecan pie without the pecans? I would love to visit the Amish, and celebrate with Shoo-Fly Pie! Hmmmm, I've always wanted to visit Lehman's Amish Goods store in person...... more food for thought! Thank you, Nancy!

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  7. It has a lot of molasses that pecan pie doesn't. I have never been to Lehman's either, but I buy from their catalog all the time. A friend has been there and says that it is a very fun visit. Some day I'll get there! Have fun making the pie.

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  8. Hmmmm, guess I'll just have to give it a try; that and the Sweet Potato pie. And I so long to get to Lehman's... I drool over their catalog. Very similar to the Cumberland General Store's, but not sure if they're still in business... gotta check!

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  9. Oh I so agree, that time is just flying by faster each year. What a gorgeous picture. It is simply the most beautiful time of the year!! You can feel the holiday's coming upon us already. The cool crisp air!!! I love your blog sweet Laura!! It always makes me feel so good when I visit xxooxx

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  10. Dear Pammy, So true, and what really gets me is when my kids say the same thing... ugh! You still have not received any rain in Texas, have you? How long has it been? (Too long, I know) You are welcome here any time, my dear! And thank you, Pammy!!

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