Fall!

We are in the deep days of autumn now. Here in the Pacific Northwest darkness comes earlier each day. The skies are grey more often than not, swordferns are glistening, the alders are bare. Bigleaf Maple leaves carpet the ground in a patchwork of yellows and orange. The Mushroom foragers are out and about in the woods. And, leapfrogging puddles is a bonus exercise on my favorite trails.

Autumn is my favorite season. It’s like a deep exhale after the expansion of summer. It feels like new beginnings. The chance to slow down, reset, and start fresh. It is also a time of vulnerability. Without purposeful rest and proper nourishment after the go-go-go of summer, we can be left depleted, falling prey to the myriad germs that swirl around children and the indoor spaces that we frequent more often when the weather is cold and damp.