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Whatever you call this time of year is up to you, but I grew up calling it Fall most of the time. To me Fall says it all, it means the leaves are falling from the trees, the air is cooling down and the temps are falling toward the coldness that will wrap around us in the Winter. It is a time to watch the moon when it becomes full as it usually seems larger this time of year. I miss alot of things in the Midwest this time of year. I miss having big bonfires and lots of hotdogs available for roasting over the fire and marshmallows that you cram on a stick and cook over the fire until they are just the right brown color on the outside and the just right melted centers. People here in Virginia that I know kind of look at me funny when I say I miss weiner roasts, the name we called them when we had Fall parties on the weekends when we were young and also as adults. We had bales of hay or straw, logs, boards which were held up under the ends with cement blocks or hay bales, lawn chairs or whatever we could find to sit on around the fire while we talked, ate, watched the stars and watched the flames of the fire changing colors and shooting sparks and smoke into the air above it. Of course when the wind changed the smoke often ended up coming right at you causing that choking feeling that smoke seems to give us when it is in our faces, so we had to get up and move. I have not seen a party around a bonfire since I moved here to Virginia, so I guess it is a Midwest thing? I love walking in the woods in the Fall when the leaves are falling to the ground and crunching under my feet as I walk. I love that the sounds get louder of the wind in the trees rustling the drying beautifully colored leaves and the squirrels and other tree critters running around through the trees. The little critters like chipmunks run and play through the leaves on the ground that crackle as they run through them. I guess I miss the differences of the Seasons between here and the midwest. It's funny how places can seem so similar, but each has its own unique way of changing seasons. I have seen a hayride or two during the last part of October here and listened to the children laughing and singing as they went down the road in a wagon filled with straw or hay. Hayrides have always been a favorite of mine with the sweet smell of straw or hay all around you while sitting on the floor of the wagon that was usually pulled by a tractor on a trek around the country roads that are the most accomodating. The memories of the laughter and talking all of the way and sometimes singing some old songs we knew. I guess that is one type of entertainment that everyone seems to enjoy. Even though Fall or Autumn always seems to bring a bit of melancholy with it as everything goes to sleep for the coming Winter, the melancholy fits in and is interrupted by highschool football games where people still flock to see their children or grandchildren and sometimes even great grandchildren play, especially in small towns where almost everyone knows everyone else and rivalries still exist between the same school teams from the same towns that existed for as long as I have known. That is the kind of place I was raised in and lived in most of my life. We lived in an area in Illinois where the towns were mostly small farming towns. The Summer and early Fall jobs included working for farmers baling hay and detasseling the corn and hoeing the weeds out of the crops like beans and other shorter crops. Yes, it was like a Norman Rockwell painting even though we all had our times of trouble and not so good times, we all still knew each other and felt each other's pain. We spent alot of time in the town parks and the corner drugstore as teens. A much different time. Fall was always the best time to me. It was cool enough to enjoy being outside and yet not too cold. I still see remnants of those times and days. The memories are probably a little glorified in my memory, but Fall is still a melancholy time and even though I do not live near enough to watch my grandson play football, I do get to find out the news by telephone. The leaves are not turning here yet, but they will and when they do I am going to make a supreme effort to get out and enjoy them. I still wish I could find someone who is having a party around a big fire to just relax and listen to the crackle of the fire and watch the stars above it and eat freshly roasted hotdogs and brown bubbly roasted marshmallows jammed onto the end of long thin stick just right for roasting things over the fire. Love in Light and Peace, Winds of Change |
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Your lovely writing brought back many memories, and I could almost smell the smoke of that bonfire! I too grew up in a small town- in Arkasas, and we had the bonfires, the weiner roasts (that's what we called them, too) and the hayrides, which included smooching with my boyfriend . The moon huge in the fall sky- hayrides were often scheduled during the full moon- and the leaves crunching underfoot as you gathered wood for that bonfire. It is probably my favorite season, although I do like spring time also. Especially the temp difference. It seems that we here in Arkansas go from winter to summer with only a week or so of spring. Fall seems to last longer. Thanks for sharing your experiences and memories Winds! Love, maia |
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The Falls started with a vegence today in South England we have leaves falling all over the place. |
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Winds, I am so glad you wrote that. Fall is my favorite time of year too. I had almost forgotten the earth smells and the crunch of colored leaves under my feet. It saddens me to think of the short time that autumn is with us before all that beauty of God/Creators paintbrush is blown away by the winds or covered by soft snow. I love and look forward to each new season where each has always been a new awakening for me. You just awakened a beautiful memory of this season. I took the grandbabies to a park and was overwhelmed by the earth smells and the crunchy leaves. Littlest babe picked up a handful of leaves and sucked the smell into her nose...LOL. Both got to play in a pile of leaves. Our big old tree that used to rein down all those leaves had to be cut down some time ago so I have misplaced that beauty. Thank you for the memories. Love and light, (((HUGS))), Real |
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| | From:  msmari | Sent: 10/27/2008 6:59 AM |
About 15 years ago, before we moved to the desert, I wrote a poem about the Fall. I called it the Fall Fire!! It is about the wonderful colors that keep popping out, the falling of almost beautiful rain with so many colors, and then the fire is taken out by the white of winter. When you freeze and want the FIRE back again!! I too grew up in the upper Midwest, ie Iowa. I loved the beautiful true four seasons. To get those here in AZ, have to drive about 150 miles north to Flagstaff, or down to Tucson. Phoenix is the center of a valley of desert. However, many people moving here from the upper midwest, want the green, so they plant grass, flowering bushes and trees, and somehow erase the true joy and beauty of the desert. They keep taking the water, but as Phoenix is now 5th largest metro area in US, and the people keep coming, water needs to be saved for the humans, not the 'fake greens'. This Sunday, Nov 2, my husband becomes 54. I become 53 on Nov 18. There are many other bdays in Nov that are related to us, but since we live now so far away from the family, we never really get to see them for bdays. My dad is getting married on his bday, Jan 31. His finance, Vivian, has taken away his depression. His voice sounds so much better, and now when we talk, I know I am talking to him again. Have a great round of holidays, Hollowed eve, all Saint's day, Thanksgiving and of course Christmas, New Years. peace to all Marilou |
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