I anticipate fall like some people look forward to a holiday. I love all things fall, although I find it a little annoying that retailers try to convince us that it is fall when the temperatures are still soaring and not one leaf has turned color. Don’t even get me started on the topic of pumpkin spice EVERYTHING.
Nevertheless, I have found myself watching for signs of fall wherever I go. In California, we don’t have the same dramatic display as some parts of the country. But fall colors still emerge. I have noticed the leaves changing hue ever so slightly. On my walk yesterday, I stopped to compliment neighbors on their HUGE pumpkins just harvested. Their trick – water. Who knew?
My hydrangeas have lost their summer brightness and are now various shades of mauve, dusty rose and green. A friend in Ohio shared a photo of an amazing bouquet of hydrangea blossoms from her garden. It looked like something out of a magazine.
At the end of September, I gave into the urge to buy a graceful glass pumpkin. Anyone who knows me, knows that I work hard to wait until October to begin bingeing pumpkins. Pumpkins tend to follow me home all through the season and hang around for months. I offer a home for wayward pumpkins.
I can’t really explain how much delight fall brings to me. I look forward to fall soups and warm cider. Picking apples and roasting pumpkin seeds. The smell of wood smoke in the air (Yes, I know it is bad for me and the planet, but I can’t help loving a whiff of wood smoke on a chilly evening.)
I love the silly fun of Halloween, complete with spooky movies. Crunching through leaves and putting acorns in my pocket. I have never outgrown the need to carry things home in my pockets. A pretty rock. An interesting bit of wood.
Thinking of delight reminds me of a wonderful essay by one of my favorite authors, Shauna Niequist. She writes in On Delight and Why It Matters about wanting to be a person who is easily delighted. She defines delight as “when we engage our senses and our spirits to experience the world God made, and in that moment, we feel a welling up of joy, goodness, and gratitude.”
Happy days of fall!
Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
Psalm 19:1-2
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
SMALL MOMENTS FULL OF GRACE 
Lovely words; they speak my Fall heart! ❣️
Thank you!
Bobbie
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