Like the squirrels running nervously, hiding food for winter, I get busy nesting for colder weather. There are always things to do. Washing storm windows, servicing the furnace, changing bedding to warmer blankets, swapping out cool colors for warmer ones. I've been ordering extra canned goods and boxes of broth. Ingredients to make soups and stews, canned pumpkin for muffins, and beans for chili. Bisquick for stewed chicken and dumplings too.
My son-in-law believed the house needed repainting on the sunny side so he's taking care of it while there's a string of dry days. Soon perennials will be cut back and removed by my garden helper. It's amazing how full the back of his truck is at the end of clean up. Some years I've left the plants for birds and little critters. This year I'll ask him to leave a few things that look pretty when it snows. The rest needs to go away so spring cleanup is easier.
Halloween decorations are mostly natural things like a showy mum for the front door, pumpkins and gourds inside and out and a few little gremlins, witches and little trick or treaters made from pine cones, hickory nut heads and caps made from the tops of acorns. I made them long ago and carefully store them in a plastic shoe box. They sit on window sills and in a display cupboard. It's little things to enjoy. October all the Halloween things come out.
Do you have traditions in fall? I'd love to hear about them. Whatever you do, enjoy the changing colors and take some rides. It's so invigorating to drive through country roads. Happy Autumn!