November

I always struggle to give up the warmth of summer. I don't like being cold. My toes seem to stay perpetually frozen this time of year. But there is a magic in autumn. A slowing of time that invites you to tarry a little longer. I think I miss a lot of moments in summer. I am so busy that I rarely stop and smell the roses, as it were. 

But in autumn things change. I notice the cloud formations, the tang in the air, the smell of wood smoke drifting in my windows. I hear the geese as they fly overhead. All food tastes better in autumn. There is no better way to whet my appetite than to have a crisp breeze blow over my food. The clarity of the air seem to act as a foil to the flavors on my table in the same way that an artist needs dark colors to showcase the light. 

Autumn is the time for warm sweaters, good conversations and old friends. 

It is the time for me to stop, take a  moment to look around and savor my life. Just like the squirrel stores up food against the cold, autumn urges us to store up warm memories and moments to sustain us through the long, cold winter.