Watermelon days of summer are gone; fall is here

Although today was deceptively warm, fall is definitely here. There is always a hint of smoke in the air from someone burning leaves, harvest has begun and there is a cloud of dust almost everywhere you drive. The leaves have turned and are falling. Yes, fall has begun.

Where did the year go? How did the time go by so quickly? Every year is like this, though. January through about the middle of October fly by; the rest of the year crawls. I'll never understand, but I'll savor the time.

Like so many other things that I love that are also bad for me, I love fall. My allergies are the worst at this time of year, but something about fall makes me think of home. Autumn in Michigan meant a beautiful array of colors on the trees, the smell of burning leaves, and a crispness in the air. It meant that it was time to put away the T-shirts and pull out the sweatshirts. I love the way a hoodie feels when I put it on, and I hope I never outgrow that! Fall meant that when I got home from school there was a good chance Dad would have a pot of something that smelled wonderful on the stove, and nothing welcomed you home better than that. Walking in the woods, crunching on the leaves, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, and listening to the breeze whistling through the evergreens and the river next to me was about as close to heaven as I'll get here on earth. How I miss that!

Time has passed, and I now live in Iowa with a family of my own. Some things stay the same--the burning leaves and the bite in the air. We don't have the trees here that Michigan does, but there are a few, and they make me long for "home." Dad has since passed on, but I made a pot full of vegetable beef soup today, and baked a batch of cookies--I hope my family and friends feel as welcomed into my home as I always did into Dad's.