Autumn has come to The Ranch
Autumn has not come to New Home yet: the sunlight is as straight and clear and oppressive as it has been throughout the Summer. I was concerned that I would not find it here either. Imagine my relief when I stepped outside of the airport and the soft, slanted light of Autumn hit my face.
This is written on Monday; I am actually already back in New Home due to a work commitment that I had to be present for. I have taken the liberty of securing permission to be here one week a month through the end of the year. I need to make sure my productivity merits being absent in body, of course.
The land here is starting to prepare itself for the coming Winter; were I to have a garden I would have until the end of October to plant one as it simply becomes too wet and muddy. The days here are already cooler - 20 degrees F or more cooler than the Summer and up to 30 F cooler than New Home. It makes for a welcome break from the remaining Summer heat that awaits me.
Other than my sister and The Outdoorsman, I have not really seen anyone at all. We did stop by and see my mother, as I have for the last three or four months (even though I have not written about the visits). The visits are always the same, with myself or all of us carrying on a conversation with my mother listening in. She will still pay a little more attention when my sister is talking about school or when I am talking about Nighean Bhan's work at the clinic she has to do her internship at. But other than that, she says little. I will say that in July when we visited and had Nighean Bhan's fiancée with us, she perked up a bit and gave us hugs all around.
We all agreed my mother looked thinner on this trip. My sister let me know that the facility had asked them to start buying protein shakes as she was eating less and less.
I try and turn my head away from what this portends.
The house remains in a varying state of disarray - after our efforts at the end of July little has moved forward, although understandable as my visit in August was mostly the hike and my visit in September was a total of three full days spread over four. My sister and The Outdoorsman got most of the laundry room cleaned out, both with chemicals and with an array of holiday decorations no longer needed.
I need to set a list of things to finish off - but again, I shy away from it.
I did make one piece of progress in asking my sister if it would be a problem if I moved here before we got the place rented. She had none. That was a relief, even if it was the easiest point on my list of things to do get here.
Still, progress is progress.
The afternoon sun blazes away over the skeletons of the spring grass as the cattle watch me idly watch me go by, while the turkeys in the far corner of the pasture work away at eating the remaining seeds and stalks the cattle have missed.
Winter is coming.
It's nice to see the place again and get an update. Autumn is always a welcome event!
ReplyDeleteLeigh, Autumn and Winter remain my favorite times of year, the one for the change of the seasons, the other because I have a grand excuse to stay inside and read.
DeleteFall time is Best Time, at least for me. However, that diminishing daylight is a bummer, now less than twelve hours.....it's precious it is. Reading about your Mom TB, ach...a tough path to walk, prayers out for her and yours.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, honestly the daylight has become far more pronounced in New Home, which honestly surprises me a bit.
DeleteIt is a tough path to follow, one that I do not think anyone is really ready for. I would be lying if I said the combination of not eating as much and weight loss has me concerned.
Our high temperatures really don't signal fall is here but the cooler nights and winding down of our garden certainly makes if feel like fall already.
ReplyDeleteEd, not at New Home either. It seems to be a slow descent into Autumn.
Delete*hugs* on your mom, TB. As hard as it has been, I think perhaps that was the biggest blessing with my husband. It was fairly (and surprisingly) quick.
ReplyDeleteAs to The Ranch. Hubby and I traveled back and forth from NC to here from 2008 until he retired in 2012. You are fortunate that the Ranch is livable as our home was not. We needed the RV we had bought intending to travel, before the BIL broached the subject of us buying the farm (what they had always called the property.)
Traveling back and forth, with a week at most to be here, it was always at best, a... holding pattern? The grass, weeds, volunteer growing things, were always as high as an elephant's eye; so we were always spending the week just getting the property mostly back to where it was when we left the time before.
It wasn't until we finally got here that we were able to make sustainable progress.
And yes, any progress is to be thankful for. I understand the pull. We certainly had it for here.
And no real fall here in Louisiana yet, either. 90s predicted for the next week.
But I'll take that over the 100s we've been having. :)
You all be safe and God bless.
Linda, as awful as it may sound, I think I agree with you. Quick is perhaps more emotional shocking initially, but not as long term.
DeleteThank you for sharing your experience. I am sometimes frustrated by the lack of progress I seem to making - at best it is a holding pattern (as you say). Of course, part of my problem is also that I need to be a little harder hearted about getting things out of the house at this point.
I'm planning a move soon, too. Getting shed of 25 years of unneeded stuff is daunting. I'm glad you have help. I've never been good at this part of living. Alone, I'm even less effective. Prayers for your family. Time waits for no one...
ReplyDeleteSTxAR, I am coming to believe that if nothing else, a move benefits us in that it forces us to look at everything we have acquired and start asking hard questions about it.
DeleteHopefully this is a move for the better!
Sucha nice looking place you are so lucky!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you. We are very fortunate.
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