This first weekend of Fall is apropos given its cold, rainy start. The heat comes on as we wake to remove the dawn’s chill now that temperatures in the low 50s put us to sleep each night. The clicking and gurgle of water in the radiators replaces the morning chirps of birds now that windows are fastened shut. Breakfast fires have started as we switch our eating location from the kitchen to the dining room, which looks out onto the back yard and hill. The trees, still cloaked with leaves, are starting to show the season with slight color changes.
It is time to change out the seasonal totems from their frames in the kitchen. The latest reveal is Fall, one of four, from the Four Seasons series by 16th century Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. His mastery of creating portrait heads from fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc., is inspiring and lovely. We have two on display, the season at hand and the one to come. When my daughters lived with us, it was a race to see which one of us would change the pictures and their positions.
The wind continues to tug at the leaves, which for the most part are holding on to their limbs. But that won’t last and soon they will find their way to the ground creating a temporary colorful, moist carpet of yellow, orange, and red before turning to a dull, dry sheet of gray.
