Fall

Fall arrived here shortly after the calendar heralded her arrival. We had been enjoying the most wonderful Indian Summer, then woke up to fall a week ago last Friday (yeah, I'm running a little behind with the posting, I know!). She'd been hinting for awhile, but on Friday it was clear that she had come to stay! The girls crunched in the leaves in Valdez, the morning air was crisp and we hunted up mittens. Saturday afternoon was the most perfect of fall days. Clear, crisp, cool and sunny. We donned light jackets and headed up a local trail, Horsetail Falls. We picked berries as we walked.


The girls ran in the alpine meadow, climbed trees (those stunted Alaskan trees make good climbing!) and bounced on branches.


We came home and I fought off the urge to make pumpkin pie! It was a picture-perfect afternoon. One that I've filed away in my mind's dictionary right under fall. Whenever I think of fall, I'll think of that day. And a particular fall in Prindle as a pre-teen...leaves piled high and still young enough to play in them! Soup on a dark rainy evening...also in my mind's dictionary.

On Sunday it was cold and windy, snow entered our forecast (although it didn't show up!) and we put the snow tires on the car. On Monday it was so windy I had to hold Stacy to keep her from being snatched by a 45mph gust of wind and on Tuesday the rain arrived. And it was *cold*! Soon the cold of Tuesday will feel warm and we'll be all winter-acclimated, but for now it feels cold and brings on longings of hot tea on the couch in a blanket and fuzzy socks with a book. Me with the book, not the fuzzy socks.

Anyway...for now I've resisted making that pumpkin pie. But who knows for how long!