Fall

I love this time of year. I love spring and fall. They are both so full change, and anticipation. I love seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables coming out of everyone's garden. Growing up, fall was always full of food preparation. My Grandpa had a garden, and he was constantly bringing over peas to pod, or beans to snap, or corn to be cut off the cob and frozen. We bought peaches and pears every year to can, and it was always a family tradition for the whole family to gather to help out with the canning. My favorite days were when Dad was home to help us all out. When I moved away from home, I missed canning. I tried once to go to a wet pack cannery to can some peaches, but it was a horrible experience, and the peaches turned out awful! This year I have loved canning. Today, I canned by myself for the first time. We didn't get our yard put in this year, but I have been amazed at how many people have offered to share the bounty of their garden with us. I love making dinner with fresh fruits and vegetables.

I love the holiday season. For me, it starts in September. Going back to school is my first holiday, then the beginning of October, I get to decorate for Halloween. The end of October is Morgan's birthday, and Halloween, with the pumpkin carving, and picking out costumes. November is when I try to do all of my preparation for Christmas, and we usually have some kind of family get together, either with my family, or my husbands for Thanksgiving. And then the best of all, Christmas. I love the whole season. I love getting my Christmas decorations up, and I often want them up before Thanksgiving. My husband always gets frustrated, and gets after me for skipping over Thanksgiving, but I have been realizing more and more lately that I don't skip it. Thanksgiving is wound up in all of my holiday celebrations. I think one of the things that makes me think of Thanksgiving the most is when I see all the fresh produce from the gardens. I always think about the pilgrims, and how thankful they must have been for those crops. I think of the pioneers, and their first summer, and how thankful they must have been to have fresh food. What an amazing gift from God. I am so grateful that we can take a few little seeds, and with a little work, we can have enough zucchini to feed an army. I really love the Fall.