It was 56 this morning….good sleeping too. The sun is warming up our patio and the birds are over at the neighbors having breakfast. The sun goes down earlier now and wakes up later…the subtle signs summer is slipping away.

Beans and corn are drying and their deep green is fading to bright yellow with tinges of gold. You can smell the aroma of fall when you drive by the giant machines (the GPS, and AC, and music) harvesting crops.

Our large garden on church grounds is disappearing daily…First the sweet corn, then the squash and melons, and now it is beans and tomatoes still blooming but wanting to rest this winter. I hate to see them go because I enjoyed being with them all summer. From the first double leaves of beans, corn, okra, and melons, to the 7′ stalks of corn we spent many quiet hours weeding and picking together. Across the road the fainting goats and the rooster who crows 24/7 and the mules keep me company. The bees have had a wonderful time and have produced 130 lbs of honey. They balked a little when the beekeeper extracted their honey but now they have settled down nicely.

The trees are losing their summer green and little hints here and there show the season is changing. I remember many seasons in my 76 years and am so glad to have spent the summer and fall here in Indiana. The warmth of friends and family and home,amid the covid times is especially comforting as the temperatures cool down.

Soon there will be lots of leaves to shuffle through and rake….no fires anymore in the city limits , but that doesn’t stop the wonderful smell of spices coming from the neighbor’s apple pies, and the bonfires with marsh mellows and hot dogs.

So take another look at your town, your neighborhood, and the miles of produce America offers up to feed the world and be thankful for every moment, every smell, and every seed that becomes that 2 leafed starter plant magically becoming corn and beans for all of us. Hope you come and visit me again. later