First Freeze

Gather leaves and grasses,

Love, to-day;

For the Autumn passes

Soon away.

Chilling winds are blowing.

It will soon be snowing.

From: Gather Leaves and Grasses.

by John Henry Bonner

With the autumn little over two weeks old, it seems that winter is soon to make its presence known in Colorado.

Two days ago I was still wearing Hawaiian shirts to the office, the temperatures at sunrise still well into the seventies. This morning the low temperature reported at the airport was twenty-one degrees. It is usually cooler at my place up in Bear Valley in the summer and slightly warmer in the summer.

Downtown, however is another matter. The thermometer on the bank up the road read fifteen when I passed it. I guess that my morning glories will soon be only frozen dead memories.

The best of the autumn color has passed and they are predicting the first snowfall to happen early next week.

Luckily, I will be in Minnesota on vacation when it hits. It is the autumn. The day is shrinking by a few minutes daily here and the nights are getting colder.

But this is not a sad time. There are lots of good things about the autumn. One of the good things about this time of year, though, is that it is once again time to start making soups and stews! It is also the time of year that my energy bill shrinks; no need to cool my home, and it is not yet cold enough to need heat. I get to sleep under my thick down comforter. Quilts go back onto the bed.

Soon, we'll have ghosts and goblins appearing looking for candy to appease them. I love this time of the year.

I hope your days are bright (if short) and full of things you love!

Don Bergquist - 07-October-2005 - Lakewood, Colorado