November In the Garden

"Walked for half an hour in the garden.  A fine rain was falling, and the landscape was that of autumn.  The sky was hung with various shades of gray, and mists hovered about the distant mountains - a melancholy nature.  The leaves were falling on all sides like the last illusions of youth under the tears of irremediable grief.  A brood of chattering birds were chasing each other through the shrubberies, and playing games among the branches, like a knot of hiding schoolboys.  Every landscape is, as it were, a state of the soul, and whoever penetrates into both is astonished to find how much likeness there is in each detail."-   Henri Frederic Amiel

The wind has come up, the days are colder and winter is clearly well on it's way. We have had our first fire in the fireplace and the rhythm and scents of baking have begun in earnest. This morning I took a good long look around the garden. There is a riot of color on the ground and amazing textures to be found once the leaves have dropped and revealed what is underneath the canopies. A quiet has settled in the neighborhood while people tuck themselves away inside in cozy warmth. It is a good time to shore up for winter, to take stock and plan for the coming year.  Are you cozy, are you planning for the next season?