It's Fall!

And that means pumpkins!  

These pumpkin patch photos were from October 24, when we finally got ourselves out to Lyman Orchards again for the pumpkin picking ritual.  It was a cloudy and somewhat drizzly day, so we had the patch all to ourselves as each of our precious gems scoured the fields for the perfect pumpkin.  They all found one they were happy with, and we carved them up as soon as we could.  

I love the fall.  The air is cold, the sun is warm, the colors turn from the bright greens and pinks of summer to crisp yellows and golds and oranges.  The air is fresh and the sun sets earlier and more colorfully.  Sweaters can scarves come out from a long rest in the closets, and adventures are around every corner.  Today was our first frost, and the winter coats came out of hiding amidst squeaks and screeches of joy from children excited about bundling up.  (I think they are dreaming of snow already.)  

Even though we know that the turning colors and cooling air mean the first beginnings of a long chilly winer, we are savoring the beauty and enjoying the outdoors as though it were spring.  

Should that remind me to savor more frosty moments and find the miraculous color and beauty in them?  Should I focus on the warm sun when the cold air has me shivering?  Should the way the seasons and years slide by so quickly remind me to never miss an opportunity to hug or kiss or joke or laugh or smile?  Should I fret that the leaves aren't picked up neatly or should I jump in piles of them and throw them all about?  I should surely focus on the beauty in front of me, and let the dry leaves fall where the autumn wind may take them as my family and I laugh and play together.  

May it be so for our family and yours.