Preparing for Winter, Season changes

The coming of cool weather is a reminder that winter is on the way. Leaves start to fall, birds start to visit the bird feeders again, squirrels gather nuts and we stack wood.
It used to be when the homestead was in full swing, that this was a time of preparing barns, cleaning them out good and filling them full of nice clean hay. I loved going in the barn after we hayed it. The scent of the well dried hay mixed with the crisp fall air is something I will always love. Animals winter coats coming on, giving us an idea of what kind of winter to expect. One year Tony our pony grew an unusually thick winter coat and sure enough it was a winter of extreme cold.
Now with no furry farm animals around, I just have to notice the tails of squirrels and coyotes.
As if I still lived in the north east, come fall I make certain my stock of flour, sugar, rice, noodles and other staples are plentiful. There are blizzards in this area, but still I plan for winter as if there could be. Old habits die hard.
I truly love winter and miss the snow. I never minded shoveling the stuff either.
Soon we will bring down the winter clothes from the attic, wool socks, bulky sweaters, big jackets, which for the last two years were never worn, but maybe once. Hats, knitted with love and mittens and gloves.
I told Emery a dream I have is to rent some log cabin in the mountains of Colorado for a week some winter and just play in the snow.
He laughed.
The garden is growing nicely, lettuce filling out and collards spreading large leaves. I am glad I have my own greens growing with all the contamination you have heard about on the news lately.
The simple things bring joy. To be honest I feel sorry for folks that don't have land for a garden and for animals. Its so natural to work the land and keeps you so fit. Fingernails caked with soil are far better to me than having a manicure.
With fall time and winter preparations comes soap making for me and candle making. Spinning up a winters worth of wool to knit during blustery days and long cold nights.
Making quilts to snuggle under. The season changes are a delight when you work specifically for them.
I remember so well the joy of setting out tall stacks of pancakes on the first cool morning of the fall. Rosy cheeked children, full of chatter and laughter, seeing who could eat the most and then spend hours running and playing. No worry about overweight children on a farm. Too much work and lots of hard play.
Today, more wood to be stacked, another type of workout. I ran two miles this morning. Felt good, the cool morning air pushing me on, coaxing me just a bit further. Its bread making day too. None of this bread making machine stuff for me. Kneading with my hands and using my muscles in my arms. Machines make us lazy and it hardly seems like you can claim to have made it by hand when a machine did the real work for you.
Winter preparations last most of fall time and then late winter brings on preparations for spring time. Spring time lets us prepare for the heat of summer and so the cycle continues. Each season with its own blessings and hardships.
Time to get that last load of wood stacked, rain is in the forecast. The woodshed will be full of winters warmth. So natural, so simple, so cheap !