Did you see him?

A man was at my house this morning…an unwelcome guest I would add. Jack Frost, that is.

There were days I used to hurriedly scurry around in the dark just prior to sunrise throwing old sheets and blankets on top of everything in the garden on this innaugural morning. I would water down anything else I couldn’t cover, seemingly spraying my clothes with just as much water as the garden, hands freezing and teeth nearly chattering. Now, with a few pretty big changes in how I am spending my mornings, that frenzy is simply not possible. Jack Frost crept into my garden and left his mark without a response from me. Strange…very strange.

With changes in our lives this school year, I am looking at things differently I guess. One could site the line “For every season…” and focus on the need for our upcoming time to rest from the toils of ground. One could also just say that our foci change and life shifts a bit. I am at peace with the damage I know he has done to my tender plants who were hanging on for one last show. More important things are in view and I cannot physically change that nor do I want to. Fall brings many changes and this year I will embrance it as that is my only option. Hmmm….seems strange to even admit but there is nothing I can do to change it. Nature happens.

As we keep an eye on the calendar and look forward to the upcoming holidays that will be here before we know it, I won’t discuss Mr. Frost much now that he showed his face once. His impact will be noticeable and sad for some, refreshing for others. It will soon be time for days of baking and decorating to replace the hours spent in the garden and the useless act of mowing the dreaded grass, which if we had more hands would simply be more space to plant edibles for some of us.

I know our vendors noticed Jack’s visit too, some preparing to defend their gardens with a better plan than I. Some, are looking forward to the break from the season of orange, yellows and green. The kids are looking forward to playing in the snow and skating while I am looking forward to finally reading the books I just didn’t get to all summer.

Shorter days and colder nights change us in many ways but one thing is for certain. Whether we want the change or not, it is going to happen. Whether we choose to react to it or not, it is going to happen. The seasons come and go and we will need to adapt. Sometimes that is hard and sometimes it just happens as a result of other things on our radar. This pattern follows other patterns and we simply must adapt.

I finish this morning with well wishes and comforting thoughts of a working furnace or fireplace, a cozy blanket and a cup of your favorite delight. I wish you happiness as we head into a new season full of potential and memories of yesterdays. May your gardens have given you all the nutrients you, your families and your friends could have wanted. We thank them and Mother Nature for sustaining us and we too look forward to days of rest. Until spring, our sweet gardens…we will see you soon. But not until we have dog-eared every last page of those seed catalogs with dreams of the covers of Better Homes and Gardens!

Have a wonderful day and be sure to order before tonight at 8 pm as the market will be closing for another week! Please spread the news of the market to all of your friends and families, coworkers and peers so we can grow, and grow, and grow, and grow…without ever a frost to worry!