I don't know about everybody else but I love Fall! Now in Texas fall is not what you learn about in school or see in the movies. Rarely do you see leaves change to the beautiful yellows, orange, and reds or feel the crispness in the air in the evenings or see the foggy mist coming off the water of a pond or lake in the early mornings. Here it just means that the temperatures have dipped into the low 80s to 70s and you can sit on your porch in the evenings without feeling as if you are suffocating from the staleness in the air mixed with heat that tends to stick around even in the evenings. But even this mild change that occurs is still exciting to me and gets me energized for the coming of October and putting up all my scary decorations. November when I get ready to have all my family over and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade while making the flourish of food to be devoured. December when I make my home look like a winter wonderland the way I grew up.
Yes, to me fall is the best. This morning after going to Joann's to pickup my curbside order of items. Which I found at an incredible discount to start making all my families Christmas gifts, yep I'm a sentimental gift giver. I told my kids that when we get home they are going outside and enjoying the 74 degree weather. The sun is shining, the breeze is cool, and you can't beat the temperature! I began preparing the backyard for the fall as well. As I write this I am sitting on my back patio watching the kids play and emptying out the pool to be put away for the season. I couldn't ask for a better day or atmosphere.
I will admit that every year since I moved back home to Texas I do become a little down and wish to be back on the east coast in North Georgia where I lived for five years. While living in Cumming, GA I was able for the first time in my life experience all four seasons. Living at the base of the Appalachian mountains I was able to leave for work every morning to a view of beautiful fall colors from the time I left my door, to driving down the highway, and pulling into the parking lot of my office. It was magical to me. My first year there I must have taken over 300 pictures of all the amazing sites and colors of the seasons. I mean come on! I grew up only seeing colors like this while cutting out leaves from colored construction paper in art class. Each year we would drive to Burt's Farm and pick out pumpkins to carve and place in the yard. Take a real hayride through the farm, and I don't mean sitting on a packed hay bail in the back of a truck. I mean an honest to God wagon with free floating hay covering the bottom and being pulled by a John Deer tractor all over the farm. After the hayride we would end the day at the little cafe they setup in one of the barns where we would have warm homemade apple cider & an apple pie turnover made from their own orchards that was to die for! All of this was less than an hour drive away.
Hiking in the fall is really hard to give a true description of the beauty you see. Ten minutes down the road from my home was a mile and a quarter wraparound hiking trail that cut around the Buford Dam and Lake Lanier. By the way, Lake Lanier is where they filmed most of the water and beach shots for The Hunger Games second movie. Madison loved hiking that trail and if I could get away early in the morning on a weekend I would go out there on my own and run the trail. It is one of the most relaxing and tranquil activities I have ever had the pleasure to experience.
I have tried to find places such as this that could come somewhat close to take Madison to since moving back home to Texas but the closest I can find is a rolling hill such trail in McKinney leading back into the Celina area or going an hour to two into Oklahoma. Still it doesn't come close to the experiences she and I have had, but I hope to give Emma some of those same experiences that her sister so loved and enjoyed when she was younger too.
I know my husband thinks I'm crazy and just doesn't understand why I try to create things in our yard for the kids in a certain way. Or why my landscaping in the front yard is always made with certain foliage and plants. I loved the flowers and foliage of the east coast and so I try to bring as much of the hardy versions that I know can survive into my yard here because they are different and extraordinary. We are in the midst of building a playhouse for the kids and I had a very clear design of what I wanted it to be, and him being a builder, he wanted to build one his way. I want it to match the fort and swing set that we already have and the look of it has the siding and colonial look of the homes in north Georgia. So I found an amazingly cute playhouse design and bought the blueprints because this is exactly what I envisioned and it will look very much the same as the fort. He rolls his eyes and gets a bit huffy at me buying plans but in the end he will see how seamless the two designs come together. He can build but I can envision.
So this week I will begin to make my house overflow with the smells of pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon. And I can't wait! I hope everyone embraces the season to come and it helps to alleviate any of the stress you have felt or endured from what our country has been going through all summer long. As always God Bless and have a wonderful week.
