An Early Warning

Winter's early breath had frozen all plants which had been blooming merrily, without any thought of  their forthcoming Death, when we arrived back home after our trip South.

The garden looks eerie...dead and skeletal Sunflower stalks rise out of the Soil with their leaves blackened and limp. Geraniums, once with such red, glowing flowers my eyes hurt to look at them, are now withered and brown.  It looks like a set for a movie about Hallowe'en.

I remembered to say goodbye to the late blooming plants before I left on holiday.  And when the weather forecaster warned the temperatures were -15C, here in the Cariboo, I was glad I had. I realized then there would be no more home-grown beauties I could cut for the indoors.


It was still a shock, on my return.  How quickly Mother Nature takes my efforts and destroys them! In the window boxes, dark, slimy vegetation has taken over the once sprightly blooms, making the house look abandoned and rather frightening.

It felt like a welcome home gone wrong.


It did not take long for the shock to recede...we live in the middle of the province, in the dry, cold, high interior, after all. What else could I expect?  It is the way of things, here.


There will still be a few warmish Days, before Winter blows in for good for a few months. During those Days, I will clean up the garden, also finishing the new beds I am in the process of creating. I could not pull out plants which were blooming heartily, before; now I look forward to cleaning them out.  Nature has a plan in mind, after all.


And this urge to clean, to prepare for Winter, has also moved indoors.  I am anticipating cleaning closets, which, during the Summer months, have somehow filled to bursting.


I wonder whether clothes procreate. Some of the items in the drawers are new to me, even, and I wonder when I bought them. Nevertheless, I am determined to have well-ordered drawers and closets in time for the full onslaught of Winter.


I imagine opening the sock drawer and finding just the perfect pair of warm socks immediately, instead of the wild searching I am doing at the present time.


With inclement weather arriving, it feels prudent to have the interior of our home just as sparse and spare as the outdoors.  Summer Flowers on the dining table have been replaced by a selection of Gourds and small Pumpkins, denoting the season... and the only decoration to be seen.



Candles have replaced the wildly profuse greenery which graced each table surface. Candles are important and useful; they are required during the times electrical power fails, and they lend such a cosy ambiance, when Wind rages outdoors.

Autumn is like this. Just now, a ferociously powerful South Wind is pushing back the strong North Wind.  Yet North Wind is implacable; he will be back, waiting and hovering just over the rise...
 

Even with the recent Winter warning residing in the back of my mind...I love, love, love walking with South Wind's breath full on my face. She is soft, caressing...she whispers her intent to return...


The Dogs are wildly excited, during this Morning's walk. They chase leaves, which blow about everywhere. Quickly, the ground is becoming a golden carpet. Just yesterday, I glanced out the window and was struck by the beauty of the red-brown-gold of the Saskatoon bushes on the far hill.

And so. Even with momentary disbelief upon my arrival home at the quick death of a garden, I can only think...

How perfectly and absolutely... beautiful and right...this time of year is!