What I Found in the Front Yard

Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite season of the year.

Winter is icy, summer is sweaty, spring is fickle and prone to severe weather watches. But fall? Fall reminds us how much God loved us when He created seasons.

For years I was slightly sad that the trees in our front yard don't turn color at the same time. What a glorious burst of color it would be if all of them were in sync, I thought.

As I get older, though, I appreciate the stately sequence.

The maple tree on the north turns brilliant golden first, 

just as the maple on the south is beginning to catch fire.

The oak in the middle holds onto its brown leaves all winter, only dropping enough to keep our decoy duck warm.

Meanwhile, the flowers are savorng the last moments of sunlight. My volunteer marigolds relish the season,

and the rescued daisy frantically tries for one last bloom.

It's time to pull out the warm slippers and chenille bathrobe and throw open the windows for one final goldenrod-laden gulp of fresh air before the furnace kicks on.

Achoo!

It's fall.