Nature Therapy

These beautiful fall days are flying by and will all too soon come to an end. I can feel it in my bones. I've been experiencing small flickers of anxiety when it becomes overcast and I can feel the downward pull of the ever-shortening days. Being outside as much as possible is the best therapy, but I need constant reminders of this. It's especially hard to pull myself out when there are never-ending chores that need tending to indoors. The key word here: never-ending. If I only did things once the chores were done I'd never do anything but chores. Such is reality.

We stood outside for several minutes a couple weeks ago watching the Lunar Eclipse. We had an impromptu science class about what an eclipse is and how often they happen. The excitement expressed by the boys in learning these things is really quite contagious.

Gavin went with Eli and my brother Joe grape hunting for Joe's wine-making around the same time. They came home with yards of grapevine for me. The little things that warm my heart! Time to start making Christmas gifts! Eli helped me wind all the vine into a rain barrel to soak and make it pliable enough to form into a wreath.

Piles of chestnuts or buckeyes have been falling from the tree in our yard. I collected a pail of them and hope to make a large rosary out of them again. Joe and I made one as a gift for our parents when I was in high school, and it hangs on their dining room wall to this day. They come pre-polished and with gorgeous color.

The boys and I also got the garden mostly cleared out. The composter, if it could, would surely be groaning with a full belly. It's funny how big of a change a month makes here. I left the carrots in for now. The first frost helps to sweeten them. I also left the bell peppers as long as they can hang on, though they're looking pretty tough, and some spinach and onions reseeded themselves. Our cherry tomato bush is also still producing tomatoes. They are missed the most in the cold months, and if I had the room I would definitely try to grow them indoors through the winter.

I still need to clear the flower bed on the street-facing side of the house, but the porch-flanking sunflowers have been dug up and seeds collected for planting next spring. I also saved seeds from the gorgeous red poppies that mysteriously sprang up in the garden mid-summer. The boys "helped" with the seed collecting as part of science class.

I hope to preserve the geraniums and fuchsia by bringing them inside before the frost. I transplanted the geraniums from the whiskey barrel planter into pots and have been studying the weather forecast each evening to make sure they don't get nipped by frost.

The boy's new favorite play things outside are the thousands of leaves accumulating on the lawn. They drag out all the rakes and spend hours making piles and destroying them. Over and over and over. It's cheap entertainment, let me tell you.

Aidan found this little guy, who was not shy at all, depositing nuts all over our yard. Aidan got within three feet of him before I warned him to back off. I had a vivid vision of the flying squirrel attaching itself to Aidan's face. Rabies ensued.

The crisp fall air is refreshing and invigorating. I wish I could bottle it somehow. It's a perfect time of the year for long walks. Each season comes with it's own special beauty and purpose. Such beauty can only give us an infinitesimal glimpse of the glory and wonder of God. Remembering to be thankful for that is a blessing.