The First Frost

Yesterday morning when I woke up, the sun was barely in the horizon and as it slowly made its way upward, I noticed the white haze on my car parked outside.  Yes, sure enough, we had our first frost.  More of a heavy dew/frost combination but at 36 degrees it was doing its damage to items in the air, such as cars and fences.  However, it didn't last long as the sun made its wayward appearance and even with the chill in the air, its warming power soon made haste of the haze covering everything.

It has been a chilly two days, bringing out the flannels at night with a heavier quilt on the bed.  The furnace has been clicking off and on even on its low setting so the chill is taken out of the house but isn't providing a lot of warmth.  The long sleeves, sweaters and even the sweats have been brought out of their summer hibernation to be put forward for dress.  Soon it will be time to retire the short sleeves, shorts and summer tees.

I walked around the yard yesterday checking for signs of damage from this cold spell.  The potted plants close to the house had enough protection that they weren't harmed, but it will soon be time to either take them inside to a safe place or let them succumb to the cold and be replaced.  Some of them have been with me for over two years as I work each winter to keep them going.  I'm not sure I am up to it this year and may let them go and buy all new next year.

The outlying gardens were burned up with the excessive heat and drought we had so there was nothing for the frost to take away this time.  But with the frost, comes the falling of sap and just maybe what leaves are left on the trees will give us some hue of color although I'm not really expecting much.  The heat took its toll on them as well and many are already showing the brown of winter and have been losing their leaves steadily.

There is something else about the first frost.  It seems to bring a clarity and crispness to the air.  The sky seems bluer and the air seems fresher.  Perhaps it is just the chill that makes it seem that way but I do think it affects the atmosphere as with the summer sky, there was not this crispness as if it were all new and ready to start a new life.

Fall is the end of the summer, a death of warmth and summer flowers, swimming, vacations, a time of fun and yet it is also alive with its own color, a degree of warmth mixed with just enough chill to make it comfortable.  The falling leaves crunch under foot until raked into large piles and then the smell as they burn into ash.  It is the smell of Fall and signals that the dead season will soon be upon us.

October, known for the harvest is a one of a kind month.  We can have gorgeous days with warmth reminding us of the summer, or we can have the cool days that lets us know that winter is right around the corner waiting for us to stay inside with the warmth of a fireplace and the smell of cookies and pies baking in the oven.

Our frost came early this year and makes me wonder what is coming later.  I don't like the frost as I don't like the cold that comes after.  I would like to have perfect weather but I have no control over that.  Mother Nature is in charge as always and it will be her decision on what the days to come will be like.  She can be as gentle as a lamb with perfect sunny warm days or she can wreck havoc with gray skies, downpours and storms and then she can also give us the silence of winter as the ground lies white with snow and the cold is so crisp that when walking, you can hear the crunch beneath your feet.

So here I sit knowing the first frost has come and gone and there will be many more, each one a little more and lasting a little longer but it is part of life and part of the seasons of life.  I will look out my window upon the dormancy that arrives with fall and hope and wish for the warm days of spring to return.  They will when it is time.  Until then, I will learn to adjust to the change and bundle up or snuggle under the warm covers a little longer.