And that is the essence of fall in New England.
One of the main things I love about fall is the weather at this time of year. And when I think of the weather what I'm really thinking about is the Indian summer weather. Warm days where you can still run around in a tee shirt and jeans yet cool evenings where a sweatshirt is needed.
But then....... duh duh DUH...... the rainy November days come.
And so begins the rainy, cold weather that proceeds winter. That time of autumn that you usually forget about, until it happens. And that weather came today.
It started with me leaving in the morning to go to my job and, realizing that it was going to rain today, I was wearing a light rain jacket. Two seconds out the door and I realize that my wardrobe was going to have to change. It was FREEZING! Like "I can see my breath in the air and their is some kind of ice covering on the hood of my car that I haven't seen in a while, I think it's frost" cold. So right back into the house I went and came out two minutes later with a much heavier rain coat, gloves, and my farm scarf which makes me look like a hippie. But my husband says I can't be one because I actually shower. Thanks hon!
And though it didn't rain till late afternoon, I still had to go back and forth between wearing a jacket to not to putting my scarf and mittens on to not depending on what work I was doing. Sitting at the computer in an unheated room? Jacket, scarf and mittens. Wrangling with cows, a donkey, and a horse while getting them to move into another pasture, though all they want to do is eat the grass that is in front of them? No jacket or mittens or scarf, just jeans, tee shirt and long sleeve shirt under the tee shirt. Walking back from the pasture you put set animals into? Still just jeans, tee shirt and long sleeve shirt but wishing you hadn't left your scarf, jacket and mittens all the way back at the barn because the exertion made you sweat and now you're cold. Now I understand why farmers dress in layers.
But it really hit home today not only that the Indian summer we have been experiencing is done and over with, but now the pre-winter weather is here. Now it's going to get colder, and greyer, and less colorful, and did I mention colder? And nothing chills you to the bone more than a cold, wintery rain. Except when you spill water on your jeans and a below freezing wind suddenly picks up. That's when you drop everything and get to the nearest heat source, and change your pants. It's very unpleasant if you don't.
With this sudden onset of pre-winter cold and rain came the realization that winter is actually coming. (Yes I changed that up for all my Game of Thrones fans. I could have said winter is coming and then I would totally show how geeky I am.) But it really is. I think the warm, crisp days of early fall seem to make us have a false sense of security. Like the grasshopper who played all summer long because winter seemed so far away. And then you experience a day like this and you realize you need to batten down the hatches and get that firewood set and get out those long johns.
And this is what I thought about today while I was moving wood piles around during the cold rain. It really does sneak up on you. And I hate to say it, but I've been more like the grasshopper than the industrious ant.
Time to get ready because, dare I say it, winter is coming (ok, I admit, I'm a geek).
On a side note, I probably have been lured into that false sense of security because baseball is still going on and it's the World Series! Go Red Sox!
No comments:
Post a Comment