Collecting

It's safe to say that fall is my favorite season.  The reasons are endless...

1.  warm, hardy soups

2.  football season

3.  sitting under the stars near a fire to ward off the chill

4.  the smell of leaves

5.  sweaters

6.  no longer needing to shave my legs (this is big people)

7.  collecting things to bring indoors to prepare for hibernation

I am a collector of fall.  Leaves get taped into my journal, acorns, and acorn hats, line the mantel, seed pods are strewn about the McCoy pottery, tree limbs with lichen are displayed like art.  As soon as I think I've found the best of fall, there is always more to come.  It never disappoints me.

If you read Mary Oliver you'll know why this gathering ritual is so vital.  When the light of day becomes too short, and my limbs can't bear the severe chill of the wind, I can still heal myself with nature within the walls of my home.  It's like my body instinctively knows the connection and it forces me to stop and think about the coming months.  A shift takes place.  

Cc and I were out for a walk the other night and we happened upon my favorite little girls.  The two year old saw the acorn caps in my hand I had from earlier in the walk.  Without saying a word, she walked over to an oak tree and picked up as many acorns as her little hands could carry.  Then she walked back and gave them to me with a big grin.  She too knows.  Children are incredibly intuitive.

Bringing the out in is a yearly tradition, but just like that, when the first sprout of spring appears, all the collections are cleared to make way for the new light.