I have to say that I love the Fall. And this year, we have had a beautiful one here in central Illinois. I can appreciate it more this year as I compare it to last year when we had rains into December that all too quickly took away the colors of this lovely season. Last year when my husband helped his brothers with the harvest (which he does every year)he came home late at night and was up early, sometimes 4:00 a.m. to get in line to empty the corn or soybeans at the grain elevators. It was a messy harvest to say the least, and the farmers around here said it was the worst in living memory. Amen. They finally finished in early December. This year, the harvest was finished in mid October and the colors are still visible today on the trees and bushes. Today, the weather is still in the 70ies and my husband is on the golf course with his two brothers. This may be the "last" of it, however, which is why I am writing about it. When it is cold, rainy and damp in the months to come, I will want to remember days like this and remind myself that they will come again. (Pictures taken at our Farm.)
We have had a whole week of Fall-like weather which has been a great relief after a very hot summer. We have been anxious to get out to our farm in the country to enjoy the lake there, and also to have a picnic and bon-fire which we especially like to do in September/October. Several years ago, my husband and his two brothers decided to put our farm of some 80 acres into conservation. In doing this, they reclaimed the lake that had dried up, created a road, and then planted some 3,000 trees! The Barclay men did all of this work themselves, and now continue to trim areas for better sunlight to trees, maintain a walking trail through the woods, and stock the lake with fish. Our family has come to love this special place in the woods, and tomorrow, we will have a gathering there for a cook-out followed by a bon-fire. The above picture shows our picnic table where we will dine. To me, there is nothing better than being out in nature.....the farm is so peaceful and perfect with only the sounds of chirping birds, rustling trees in the wind and an ocassional fish jumping in the lake. Lovely butterflies flit about, and sometimes we encounter the deer that live in our woods. William Wordworth wrote, "the world is too much with us; late and soon...Guilty and spending; we lay waste our powers...Little we see in Nature that is ours....." For me, I enjoy turning off the T.V., muting the cell phone, shutting down the computer, and going for a walk in the woods....the real peace and joy for me can be found there.
