Fall Benefit and a few musings on the changing season…

As I sit here in mid October, the golds of the autumnal cottonwood leaves are visible just outside. There is a gentle pause happening here at Harmony. The many pine and fruit bearing trees, sentinels of grace, are witness to the changing temperatures, cooler mornings and caressing warm afternoons. The Deciduous trees won’t likely drop leaves for another month. However, we can feel the farm waiting, holding its breath; the countdown to winter has begun. It’s coming. The magpies and visiting bluebirds know we are in that sweet time, as they collect the acorns from the gambol oak trees. The summer camping and glamping season is winding down. It’s time to cut back the garden flowers, the grasses in the orchard and leave them to nourish the soil and critters. We will add some compost to the inner garden beds. When the winter fires begin and the long nights wrap around me as sit lazily in the living room dreaming up events for next year,  I will think fondly of those sleepy garden beds as they rest beneath the frozen landscape.