Winter Coming On

The sun stretches across my porch falling low enough under the roof to let my plants bask in sunlight where they used to find shade. The trees in the backyard are covered in a blanket of gold, having traded their capes of green for a fall wardrobe. The grasses by the creek have pods ready to pop and lay out seeds for new spring shoots. And the place in the backyard where I laid Lou to rest now blends into the landscape so that you can longer tell that a beloved pet lies under the rocks and grass. Winter is coming, the squirrels know it, they are gathering acorns with renewed vigor. The deer know it, they have come in close to the house grooming their rutting grounds and marking trees with their antlers. Tonight I covered my tender plants preparing for deep cold. I brought all the plants in from the porch that would surely perish during this first night of bitter cold. A breeze is blowing and it cuts through my not-made-for-winter clothing. I think it is time to haul out the winter flannel, the sweatpants, my Uggh's boots and my winter hat, the one that makes me look like a log rolling lumberjack.

I am amazed at the amount of leaves that have already fallen from the trees and practically overnight the gums and oaks have turned to crimson. The hickories are bright yellow and the dogwoods dot the hills with many shades of pink and red. I walk through the woods swinging a long pointed stick, the one that Lou used to chew and tug on, playfully trying to take away from me. I somberly make my way through the woods to his grave. He was my best friend, it is hard to think of him lying out in the woods alone under dirt and stone, cold and still. Hard to imagine because Lou was never still.....sigh. He is gone, but not forgotten.