Fall Is Here!

I love fall, or as it's also called more formally perhaps, autumn. I say a big yes to sweater weather!!  Yes to cool nights and warm afternoons.  Sleeping with the bedroom windows open.  Trees changing colors and dropping leaves.  The crisp crunch of those leaves after they've fallen and you step on them.  Fresh vegetable stands with piles of apples and pumpkins!!  Bring it!

And squash! There is nothing like a butternut.  It's got a big fat bulb that's thick when you cut it so you can scoop out seeds without losing all the flesh, but the best part is the skinny bit up to the stem.  

Summer squash is good but autumn squash is awesome.  By now I'm tired of zucchini and ready for a nice orange acorn squash.

And did I mention sweater weather?  I'm not a fan of the turtleneck, but a nice big slouchy cowl style to keep you warm when the wind blows is just about the best thing in late fall.

... and nothing ever beats the Argyle!  I don't care if it's a golf vest or a cardigan or a nice pullover, they're so classic.

Fall in Wisconsin is great.  Spring is wonderful too but fall is just so special.  I guess it's because we're anticipating the long winters that start with the first snowfall (usually not 'measurable' until after Thanksgiving) and ends with the last frost in April or May.  <sigh>

Fall also means tons of apples.  The Elegant Farmer orchard is a couple of miles from where I live, so I see the trees as I drive by.  I see the people there on weekends, picking their own apples.  And apple pies are a real fall treat.  The bounty of nature in green and red, with a nice piecrust thrown in for good measure.

                       

Today I'm sitting in the kitchen with the windows open, listening to birds chirp and loving the afternoon sunshine.  Miss Kitty is sunning herself on her padded cat condo.  Pretty soon I'll have to put the soup on the stove and make some rolls, but for now I'm just soaking up the pretty afternoon.

Life is good!