Summer slipped to Autumn gently. And Autumn has glowed in her most beautiful way, giving golden moments of joy, but also stealing minutes and hours of our light.

Mornings I used to wake seeing sun streaming in my back yard windows, and afternoons where the brilliant strong beams made you squint- - - INDOORS- - - have changed. The sun now waits until the kids open the door to head to school before making an appearance. And seems to be tired earlier in the evening, needing to tuck in sooner, too fatigued from a summer of late night settings.

The feeling of crisp air has me happily humming by the fireplace, even now as I write to you, but also furrows my brow as I look at the calendar, trying to plot how many more open ocean kayaking adventures I have left before the seas embrace their season of whitecaps and wind chops.

The Farmer’s Market will have different produce soon. The lovely beefsteak tomatoes I ate with abandon for breakfast, lunch and dinner…and snacks in between!…will soon be replaced by gourds and pumpkins. Just last week I purchased the first local apples, small and sweet and tart! I look forward to seeing the pumpkins, like old friends reminding me of cosy times curled up on the couch reading under a blanket while the afternoon sky over the water grows dark.

Pumpkins mean tucking in together, soups and pies, friendship and slow moments inside thinking of late evening hikes to the peak of any and all mountains available. Penning snail mail at the breakfast nook table looking over my shoulder to check if another log needs to be added to keep the house warm like the summer just gone.

Pumpkins mean together under the same roof talking softly and laughing loudly, wondering if I should knit mittens or socks, and pulled back to a well read book and oddly feeling the need to deep-clean a room- - -and scratching my head wondering if I wasn’t just here in the spring doing the same thing…

Pumpkins mean sharing, having enough to brighten someone else’s day, but not enough to waste. Little orange and gold reminders of good stewardship and hard work, and luck and blessings, and Thank God the weather never got too hot or too cold too early or too late.

Pumpkins mean an opportunity to give to you.

And so I shall.

And then I am off to enjoy the last beefsteak tomato and savor the taste of summer one bite longer.