Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowing things. I don't feel like Spring. I feel like a warm red Autumn. - Marilyn Monroe

Of all the seasons, autumn offers the most to man and requires the least of him. - Hal Borland

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. - George Eliot

After moving to our mountain homestead in the summer of 2013, I was hesitant to make many seasonal modifications for fear of killing a perennial or stunting next year’s growth. Objects around the property which seemed in disrepair went untended as I didn’t even know what some things were used for. This year I am rolling up my sleeves, no longer afraid to make this place my own. I told the mountain, “I’m not afraid of you anymore.”

My first task this fall was to address several of the tall front beds where lilies and other brilliant bulbs had bloomed all spring and summer and could now be cut to the ground for the winter. Since I was recently authorized to operate the big STHL gas powered string trimmer, I felt empowered to tackle this chore. And it went pretty well for a bit. However not far into the second bed I must have disrupted a nest of bees in the ground....and they were not happy with me. My cutesy little mantra of “go away little bee” was out the window and the rest of the bed is still waiting for cooler weather and calmer bees to be cut.

We have finally cleared the last of the summer garden. Cog was kind enough to till it for me with the big Husqvarna. One of the many advantages of having someone twice my size and strength was obvious as I watched him finish the task in half the time it would have taken me. We still have a portion of the old garden fence standing inside the new garden fortress, but we can pull that down in between other more pressing fall tasks.

Always busy with projects, Cog has spent various blocks of time over the past two weeks on a ladder waterproofing and caulking the log cabin, specifically the south side which has been hammered by the weather and was far overdue for treatment. In the midst of this the new sliding glass door arrived, and over several days he installed, stained, polyurethaned and re-insulated the entryway.

I am waiting for a few finishing touches to be completed such as the interior trim to be installed, but it is fully functional and provides a spectacular view through a glass pane which in the old sliding door was fogged from a broken vacuum seal.

Although we have begun cutting wood to heat with for the winter, and certainly have enough dead wood and trees that need to be thinned to keep us warm for many years to come, we have ordered a few loads of wood to be delivered this weekend. We did this in order to maintain a local firewood relationship we established last year when we were not yet cutting our own wood. With temperatures expected in the 40°s and 50°s this weekend, it is perfect wood stacking weather.

Transitioning into chilly weather mode I made time in the evenings to get back to some crocheting. I've decided this fall’s early fashion from the mountain are fingerless mittens, more commonly called texting mitts. I whipped up a pair to match each of the scarves and headbands I made last winter. I suspect more of these will also be distributed in a few holiday packages this year.

We may be accepting the change of seasons in stride, but I am finding new blooms of whispy purple summer flowers in several beds. One I put into a pot of dirt and then forgot for a week and it grew even more brilliant. Someone forgot to memo the petunias that winter is coming.

Mrs. Cog

October 2, 2014