First Day of Autumn

Ahh - the Autumn Equinox arrived. My favorite time of year is Fall. It is a time when I feel most balanced and grounded. Maybe it's because I'm a Libra and everything in the universe is lined up in perfect harmony for me this time of year. It is pure bliss and the months ahead are welcomed and cherished!

Some of the things I love about Fall; the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, falling asleep to the sound of rain, the colors of the leaves as they slowly change, it's a time to relax after a busy summer, sweaters and scarves, being able to go to the park or hiking without a ton of other people there, the longer nights and more time to 'dream', curling up in a blanket on the sofa with a book in the middle of the day, the undeniable urge to bake sweet unhealthy treats, and of course the wonderful selection of seasonal beers that come out this time of year (Pumkin Ale - Yay!). Of course, with Esperanza literally running circles around me these days, I'm not sure how much relaxing I'll get done this time of year...but I'm looking forward to her showing me many new things to love about Fall.

I won't dwell on it at the moment, but there is one day during this time of year that I do not look forward to - my birthday. Not becasue of the getting older thing - I honestly don't mind that. It is not just my birthday but my sister Naomi's birthday as well. I was born on her 5th birthday. She has been missing for several years now and each year when our birthdays approach, I am saddened more so about all the unknowns than at any other time.

Oh and one other thing I don't like about fall...cold season is here. Last night Esperanza went to bed with runny nose and we were up most of the night since she couldn't breathe laying down. Reluctantly, by about 2 in the morning I decided enough was enough and got up with her. I made some tea for both of us as well as some cough/throat lozenges with honey and slippery elm powder, ate a necterine and hung out for a bit as if it was in the middle of the day. Not sure if the lozenges helped Esperanza or not but just being up in the middle of the night with the assumption that I was okay with it made her feel better. We spent our first day of Fall indoors mostly with the ac on sipping garlic lemonade, sucking snot out of Esperanza's nose and having a pretty rough day to say the least. It was a reminder to stock up on some herbs and also get a dehumidifier (any one have recommendations on what kind/brand??)

Dang-it...one last thing that is beginning to bother me about fall...global warming has made fall feel like summer. Though the wind was blowing and the noticable distance of the suns glow, it was so hot and hummid today! Certainly not sweater and scarf time yet.

Back to the good stuff about fall -I also love the beginning of fall because it is harvest time!!! Yesterday, on the Eve of the Equinox, Esperanza and I were invited up to my friends farm to gather some produce and eggs. I forgot to take pictures of the garden, but it is beautiful. It has been over a month I think since we were last there, and this was what it looked like then

Before we picked veggies we strolled through the pastures where the goats, llamas, horse, and hens roam and got some fresh eggs. One of the baby goats is very people friendly and Esperanza got to pet her for awhile. Same with the horse. Unfortunately he is very old, otherwise I'd have put her on him. They have a ton of chickens with more eggs than the two of them need. Lucky me! I'm in heaven cause they have offered me eggs whenever I need them for a very cheap price. Yay! No more grocery store eggs for us. Then we went to the garden and picked green beens, carrots, beets, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, summer squash, and I think thats it. Corn and other squash still aren't ready...Look at these eggs! And notice that beautiful heirloom tomatoe they gave me as well

Before we left, Esperanza managed to topple over face first into the concrete and scratched her nose up pretty good. Poor thing, now that she's walking she falls down and hurts herself ALL the time.

Happy Autumn Equinox!