Fall seemed to arrive a bit early this year, and I”m not complaining! The exception being our very early (by a month!) light frost that took out many of the flowers. The first frost is always a little bittersweet, but this year it felt like it was especially so as we weren’t ready to be done! Some of the dahlias were completely lost, but a few that were in the middle of the rows have managed to pump out some more blossoms.

The cooler temperatures have also encouraged the roses to get blooming again! I’m just loving the fall feel of the colors.

The cooler temperatures also put a stop to many of the heat loving vegetables but we are enjoying Kale, Swiss Chard, and beautiful champagne colored raspberries!

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We’ve had our first couple of fires inside the house and also enjoyed a fire by the barn fire-pit.

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Rosie and I have been taking Wood Walks along our trails, and it’s been really lovely to watch the leaves change.

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The new chickens have started to lay! The eggs are tiny still but I’m thrilled. Just look at that beautiful dark brown color of the eggs (the large white one is from the ducks)! Have I mentioned that we ended up with another rooster? So far, he seems much nicer than our last one!

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Every fall, we try to plant more trees. No matter where we’ve lived I’ve always tried to plant trees for our children. At the farm, we’ve planted trees based on their names! This ‘Grace’ Smoke Tree is absolutely magnificent lit up from behind by the setting sun. We’re planting a ‘Harrison’ apple tree for Harris.

In the past couple of years, I’ve fallen hard for Redbud trees even though they often don’t get to to bloom due to a late frost. It’s the foliage that I adore. We have a variegated one, ‘Alley Cat’, and we just planted one called ‘Rising Sun’. Look at that foliage!

I find it a little hard to believe that the days are getting so much shorter but we will try to embrace candles, fires, sweaters and soups as this season continues. What are you looking forward to?