This is the time of year when I get just a bit homesick for St. Louis.  More specifically, I am homesick for my friends and all the fall activities we used to enjoy together.  In less than four weeks, the picture above is likely to be what we will see here along the foothills of the Rockies.

Fall is a wonderful time for me, overall.  The weather is generally perfect.  Our toasty days have cooled, and our nights dip into the 30’s and 40’s.  We all sleep a little better for that.  I get to take out the winter clothes I’ve not seen since spring, and it’s like getting a whole new wardrobe, at least for a few weeks.  Our skies are clear and crystal blue – the kind of blue most people only dream of.  The leaves turn yellow and gold and red.  And snow starts kissing the tops of the mountains in the distance.  On a cool fall evening, it is common to smell wood smoke, as fireplaces get their first test-runs of the season.  A person’s thoughts turn to warm drinks, bowls of savory soup, and all those oven meals you can’t cook in the hot summer.

And I think of our parties.  40 people crammed into our little house and spilling into the back yard, our kitchen counters covered with all kinds of tasty goodies, and plenty to drink for all.  Outside, the firepit would be going, there would be some drumming, and laughter and happiness would fill the night.  I think of Halloween and our madly decorated front yard, and all the kids who would come by for candy and to see if the still figures on our lawn were “real” or just dummies.

This is our fourth Halloween in Colorado.  I think I am melancholy because I still don’t have a group of friends that I can host a party with.  I built a firepit in our back yard, but have no one to sit with around it.  No potluck parties, no drumming.  It doesn’t help that this is our third house in the three years and three months we have lived here.  It is an unsettled feeling, in a way.  I hope we are where we will stay for the next 5-10 years, but who knows, right?  We don’t have any idea how many kids (if any) we will get for trick-or-treating.  I am sure it won’t compare to what we had back home in Missouri.

But I make the best of it, because I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  My mountains are covered with snow, the aspens are all kinds of colors, and our air is crisp and wonderful.  I can put wholesome, filling, warm foods on the table, and while I can’t cuddle up to a fireplace (this house doesn’t have one, unlike the townhouse we had to leave), I do have warm clothes and comfortable furniture and a well-heated home, so it is all good.

Soon, we will have our first snowfall.  We have already had two frosts.  My garden is waning, and my free time is waxing.  I will have to find things to fill up all my newly-found free time. Time to crochet up some more things!

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