Vermont has experienced one of the warmest summers in our history this year. Frankly, Vermonters don’t do heat well. We are more a population that likes the cold. After all, we choose to live in a state that has a long, cold, snowy winter almost every year.

In the last few days, the weather has started to change. The mornings are cool. The late evenings call for a sweatshirt or a small fire in the fire pit outside. The squirrels are beginning to hurry hiding their food for the winter.

And the leaves are beginning to change. Not many of them, but a few. Tiny spots of red are appearing, and soon we will be in the midst of our glorious fall foliage. For the first time in my lifetime, I expect that foliage season will be a bit quieter than normal as Vermont is discouraging visitors due to the pandemic.

What does fall mean to us? It means spending time on stacking firewood, canning, freezing produce, buttoning up the house, making sure the gardens are cleaned, and so many more tasks. While I always welcome the coming of spring, I have to admit that fall brings with it the gradual slowing of the pace of life as we spend less time farming and that slow-down is welcomed.

What about you? Are you looking forward to fall and winter or dreading it?