Winter is on it's way

Fall has barely even begun and already winter is nosing it's way in. Our nights are so cold already and some days the clouds are heavy gray with a threat of snow in them. The cats have thick winter coats and spend most days curled into a ball on top of a warm blanket.

Last night we finally caved in and turned on space heaters--and this morning, Reagan and I ate breakfast cuddled under a blanket on the couch, watching cartoons and listening to the hum of the heater.

I can look outside and see trees still in their full array of green splendor, others nearly bare and still others changing from their spring clothing to their fall finery. Every year I look forward to this brief time period between summer and winter and every year it gets shorter and shorter and winter seems to get longer and longer...as though it's trying to take over every season in some methodical, menacing plan.

It's not that I don't enjoy winter (although I could do without the ice storms and the extreme sub-zero temps), it's more that I love fall and all the wonder it brings and every year a little bit more of it gets taken away--it's like watching your sand castle eroding under the incoming tide, knowing you can't stop it and you can't save your castle.

I wish fall could last forever. More time to jump in the leaves, crunch them under your shoes, smell the scent of earth, apples and pumpkins in the air. More time to drink apple cider, run outside in your sweaters until your cheeks are stinging with the wind.

And with that image in my head, I'm off to get ready to spend a day outside with Reagan.