Fall in the Air

There is a touch of fall in the air.  It's wonderful to have cooler weather after all the heat we've had.  Today was a cloudy, partly sunny day and breezy.  The kind of day you put your lightweight sweatshirt on when you go out.  I'm not crazy about having snow arrive anytime soon but I love the fall weather.  The nights are crisp and cool and the days so sunny.  The smell of fallen leaves is so pleasant I wish someone could bottle it!  I love the woods this time of year.


I have been watching the deer enjoying the soybeans all around our house.  And the birds are clamoring for seeds even though they are abundant in the fields.  I have a small wild area behind the house just for birds and other critters and there are many varieties of seed there.  They can feed themselves to their little hearts content.  The hummingbirds are fewer now.  I didn't have as many as I usually do but then I only put out two feeders this year.  I go through more than 50 pounds of sugar if I put out more.  And I get tired of filling the feeders all the time.


Coyotes are pretty populous around here and I really don't care to see them.  I have too many little dogs and cats that they would find very tasty.  And a small hawk swooped down the other day and snatched a dove from the bird bath.  We have a lot to see from the windows in our house.


Soon the buzzards will be leaving for a warmer winter home.  I always know spring is near when I see them around March 12.  Almost every year it's the same.  I'll miss seeing them warming their wings on top of the old silo that is across the road from our house.  They sit there in a circle around the top of the silo with their wings spread enjoying the sun.  I have never pinpointed a date when I don't see them until spring but it's usually in November.


Soon the leaves will be in their glory of color and it will be time to take our fall drive.  We usually go to southern Ohio for that trip.  We head out on the back roads that sometimes aren't much more than an old lane but that's where the beauty is.   I'm already looking forward to that. I love Fall.