Fall is here and for the last few years I have said how it is my favorite time of year. Now after the crazy summer we had I think I know why.

As much as the fall routine makes us busy and takes up our time it really is a slow down, the garden is out, the chickens are butchered (almost), the pigs are grown and ready to go, or gone, the horses are out to pasture, the cows are coming home soon and the calves are sold.

And I’m not just bailing on you guys; I finally picked up my journal again last week and started writing again… as therapeutic as it is, summer just never allows me a moment to sit and write, we are busy, much of the time is spent growing our farm, garden, and children. I do find and choose other ways to relax and spend my time enjoying the things around me in the summer though. I spend my time in the sun on the deck, in the garden, in the yard playing, and taking in everything around me. So although I’d like to have made time to write more, this past summer has proven that sometimes priorities make them selves.

So now even though it’s fall and the snow has already shown itself a few times, the weather is cold and I have more time inside I have more structure to my day now that the kids are in their activities; they are going to school and during the week we have a schedule. I hope to write more, to you and for me.

I’m not complaining about the summer I love the heat and the spontaneity summer brings. I love when my house is filled with people unexpectedly, when the barbecue gets lit last minute to roast some hotdogs and hamburgers for an unexpected deck party, when it rains and we have a day of crafting and reading inside or when the sun shines and we find adventures outside.

Those of you who know me you know I don’t like being cold but fall brings on a different kind of cold it’s a cozy feeling and I can turn the fireplace on, I can light candles, I can decorate I can keep up with the dishes and the laundry although my husband would probably disagree! It brings a sort of structure and expectedness to daily life that isn’t there in the summer.

I love cooking meals that I’ve grown it’s always a goal to try and plate everything from my own garden, my own barnyard, my own home! Everything that sits on our plates is grown right here from our own efforts, from all the work and chaos of summer.

Fall for me is the time to reflect, it’s a time to enjoy the calm and the quiet. Even if it’s getting colder we can still play outside we can collect leaves and pinecones so we can build crafts, we can clean up and get ready to start fresh again. So although I would love to live in a warmer climate somewhere where it’s summer all the time and I never have to bundle up because I’m so cold where I never feel chilled to the bone I love that there is a reset and when the leaves turn and the sun sets sooner and it’s beautiful.

-A