Here we are again turning the corner and heading into the nesting season. It’s time to gather our harvests, and prepare for the winter months ahead. It means cleaning the house (as best you can with 6 animals running amok!), throwing out junk, turning out the closets and getting the winter clothes in line. However, the fall here in the mountains also means that the weather is still HOT! We are currently in a mini-heat wave again. That’s the Indian summer aspect of mountain living. But, even though the days are still warm, there is just the slightest hint of wood smoke in the early morning air. The leaves on the Black Walnut trees are starting to turn yellow and litter the decks around the house. My animals are starting to shed their light summer coats in preparation for their thick winter fur (I have hair everywhere, black, orange and brown!)

The first full moon of September is called the “Harvest Moon.” Traditionally, the time to collect the harvest in whatever form it takes. Down the road and over the mountain, lies the beautiful Napa Valley. The fragrant grapevines are resplendent in mosaic colors of red, purple, gold, and orange. Along the roadside, beautiful Queen Anne’s Lace grows profusely. (It’s such a lovely flower for a weed!) The wineries there are in full swing harvesting their grapes and preparing for this years wine crop. At the local wineries, the scent of fermenting grapes, held in huge gondolas, is everywhere! This is a busy time of year for the vineyard workers.

Closer to home, we do have some smaller wineries, but our surrounding land is mainly farm land. Sleepy cows, sheep, and horses dot the countryside…all creatures great and small, taking in the last of the warm, Indian summer days. This morning I sit out on the back porch with my steaming mug of coffee and contemplate all the work that needs to be done around the house in anticipation of the festivities for October, November and December. I gaze out at the distant mountain ridge covered in a blue/gray haze (there have been wildfires in other areas!) A slight scent of wood smoke lingers in the air, and the temperature is just right. Soon enough I will be sent scurrying inside the house as the temperature rises!

I love preparing for the fall. Out come the colorful quilts, flannel sheets, seasonal throws…all in appropriate colors. Warm browns, oranges and yellows for autumn, red and gold jewel tones for winter holidays and winter white and blue for January and beyond! As I rummage through my storage bins, I catch a glimpse of my senior cat Leo, (sunning his ageing bones in the window) fast asleep and oblivious to all the frantic activity. Time to be thinking about supper soon…I think tonight, a nice savory stew will be in order. As the sun slowly sets in the west over the ridge, it paints colors of peach and turquoise across the sky, I see a small, pale moon already riding high in the sky, It brings to mind the words of that well-known song about harvest time…”shine on, shine on harvest moon, up in the sky.” Now, on to the next… (2009)