Autumn

Today is a real Fall (or Autumn as they would say here) day. The weather up until now has been amazing and has been one of the best (and warmest) summers we have had in Ireland... but we are now well into autumn (It started August 1st in Ireland) and we are well overdue for a good, cool, windy day. We got it today.

We have known that the change was inevitable, and we even have been observing the yearly rituals that signaled the end of summer. The days are getting noticeable shorter. The animals are being brought up out of their summer fields, and the lambs, calves, and colts are now grown and have lost that cute awkwardness that they once had. And people are stocking up on coal and peat for their winter fires.

I enjoy these autumn days before winter time hits us. There is a brisk freshness that you can almost smell on the air, and a return to routine that is comforting. I guess that I should go ahead and post this, I need to go into the den and stoke the fire.