Seasons First Crisp Morning...setting the stage for a great day..

Friday Night Fever...with those three tiny words spoken by our local sports announcer, I anticipate crisp dewy mornings, and sweater grabbing evenings!

Welcome to Fall Y'all..Fall in the South that is.

The warm season will be with us but a little while longer during the day, but oh those magical mornings.

You know, when you get up to get your babes up for school. Grab that first cup of steaming hot coffee and head to the front porch for wake up time. The air is clean, smelling of morning dew that glistens in the sunlight. Birds are waking up, singing joyfully now that the rigors of scorching heat have faded for a season.

I sit on my porch, encased in a white wicker chair handed down by my mom. Memories of a ritual I experienced as a child wash over me and I can see my mom waking me up, and herding me off into the shower. Did she feel the same feelings I have? The ones where my heart melts as I gaze upon my child's sleeping face? Was she as overcome with completeness as I am in seeing them grow?

Lucky, my old friend brings me out of my musings. His cold nose nudging me as he happily dances at my feet. These cooler mornings bring out the pup he once was-- I am sad as well as happy. He is getting older, and I hate the way his body aches from the damp and cold that is soon to settle over the land. Yet, at this moment, he is vibrating with excitement and happiness. If only one could stop time.

Gazing at a nearby tree in the yard, I see activity at the bird feeder. The seasons babes are almost grown now, and their playful antics at the feeder have all but gone. I miss seeing them play, yet understand life has to inch forward.

The early morning mist is being burned off by the warmth of the sun as it stretches tiny rivers of rays and peeks at me from just over the tree line above the shop.

I sip my coffee, and am content. Diamond sparkles of lingering dewdrops glisten on the green grass, sliding down it's blades creating a tiny pool for insects below.

Nature at her finest, not only providing beauty for the eye, but life for her inhabitants.

Soon I hear my son's voice in the kitchen. He is talking with his dad, well...arguing with him against needing a sleeve. Yes, it's chilly, but soon the day will brighten and warmth will once again enclose us in its embrace.

My morning time is almost over, and the activities of yet another day begin in earnest...

yet, I know that tomorrow will find me right back here, enjoying mother nature and finding all that is right in my world.

Son moves up behind me, ready to be taken to school. His hair still damp from the shower, his eyes bright with anticipation of the day, his smile like a balm to my soul.

And as we drive the short distance to school, we talk about life, about crisp cool mornings and about the order of things. Our final words to one another before the door closes is I love you. Have a great day.

And I leave the school yard with a smile on my face, ready for my day, ready for the evening to come, bringing with it the beauty of early Fall scents and scenes spread out on a living canvass for us all to enjoy and experience.