July 3, 2012

July 3, 2012

     Ugh. It’s only July and the blistering sun has made the grass, flowers, and trees parched and lifeless. I keep thinking if we could skip the rest of summer and move on to October, my favorite month, maybe we would get some fall rains and nature would flourish again. I love the fall, it is mother nature’s way of doing everyone a favor and providing relief from the harsh summer.  Now I know that September is the official start to fall, but here in Missouri September is as hot August until the end of the month. There’s so many thing I love about October besides the cooler temperatures: I love the leaves changing colors, the fall festivals, and pumpkin patches for the kids. I love that it is the start of baking season and also basketball season. I am a sucker for basketball, but only college and high school. My family will take road trips in October to drive around and look at the beautiful foliage. We are lucky to live in the Ozarks and get to see all the lovely leaves.  So many times these road trips will lead us to the pumpkin patches and fall festivals that I was talking about. My kids will carve pumpkins, get their face painted, pet baby calves and goats, but their favorite is the hay ride. I even enjoy the hay ride. There is something about riding through a field as nightfall approaches, and the smell of hay is mixed with the scent of fall. After the hay ride, my family gets back in the car to make our journey home, this time, without the scenery that fall brings. It is dark all around except for the brilliantly bright moon up above. That’s okay though; the kids always tire themselves out and fall asleep on the way home.