That's all she wrote.

It's been cold here at night. We held off on using the furnace until the very end of October. When we woke up to a 58 degree house, we fired her up.

I walked into the bathroom Saturday night and discovered the window was open. Not a big deal in and of itself, but I realized it was quiet. No crickets chirping, no cicadas screaming, no kid voices drifting on the breeze. It's over, folks. No matter how warm the days are, Summer is gone and Autumn is damn close to climbing on the bus, too.

It was a great run here in Southern Minnesota. A long growing season provided an excellent harvest. We had more than enough produce for our family, and our friends, and our friends' friends...you get the picture. We pulled the last carrots and harvested the herbs a couple weeks ago. The gardens are now covered in a gentle blanket of golden straw, soon to be insulated with snow.

This time of year always finds me torn. I know, that like us, nature needs to rest. A quiet time to breathe and rejuvenate. But, as the days grow shorter and people begin to cocoon in their homes, I feel melancholy and a little lonely.