Fall has defiantly arrived, heralded by dusky nights arriving far too quickly and the proverbial frost forming on the morning pumpkins, crystallizing the windshields of cars.
It’s a time to sort things out, to make the transition from being outdoors to the confined protectiveness of the house. Yards need to be picked up in preparation for raking, glass tables at which we shared all summer meals and discussions of the progress of pine cones that look like bananas from a distance will soon need to be moved in an effort to save them from the weight of winter snows. Blankets along with substantial recipes will be located as we prepare to feather our nests for the coming cold months.
Not only do we have to winterize the coop for our flock (remove the current bedding replacing it with the first of the winter start) but we also need to clear out buckets, fix roosts that have buckled under soggy summer use, and gather our tools – setting them away until needed forever once again after the future snows have melted.
The same goes for our house, as we transition from the openness of being around outdoors to the sometimes cramped and yet comfortable darkened nests of our home. With this seasonal transition comes not the cleaning that is traditionally done in Spring, but rather it brings the sorting, the eliminating of all that is not necessary.
Cold and dark has a way of making you place priorities. A book and a wrap are what’s needed, a steaming bowl of stew is what’s craved. Confinement spurs the conversations an open trail had inhibited – we recall each other once again.
Winter is a time of reflections. It’s a yearly chance for us to decide what it is we don’t need so that we can remember what it is that we absolutely do.
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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