Fall . . .

. . . is on the way

by tkbrown
Just when it looks like summer
has settled in to stay,
sunshine follows days of wet
with a teeny bit less heat
during mid-day sun
and some temperature drops
as nighttime turns to  dawn.

Cooler temps have been knocking
for a few days now,
patiently awaiting just the right time
to make a grand entrance
and take Mother Nature's bow.

Highs in the seventies
and lows in the sixties--
then suddenly lows drop
into the upper forties.

Knock, Knock, Knock:
Fall pleading to be let in
to meet the schedule
as planned--
beginning an end to life's cycle
currently at hand
as the never-ending circle
inches forward in the sand.

As time and warmth fall back,
colors explode along scenic drives
to ease the pain when mostly black
with touches of grays, browns,
and splotches of green
signal hibernation--
from which Mother Nature
slowly awakens the Southern Hemisphere
where leaves and buds begin to appear
in varying shades of yellow green
and the most beautiful flowers
a body has seen
poke their heads out to welcome the sun
as we flip earth's annual cycle
of fertility and recline.

The fall equinox
with it's Harvest Moon
is knocking quite loudly
on summer's tune
as Mother Nature's produce
is reaped and stored while Earth's
lower half is tilling and sowing
for the abundance provided
by summer's noon.

With a knock, knock, knock,
cooler temperatures arrived--
just a wee bit cooler,
from those storm clouds derived.

When the sunshine returns
with an inviting hue,
heads swivel about to view
the blinding sheen.

Then suddenly, a warning
of a cold night to be--
quite unexpected
during Harvest's Jubilee.
As it slowly returns to normal
over nightfall--two or three--
we will see the colors blossom--
yellow, orange, sienna, and red
will be ushered in for free.

God will be busy painting hillsides
as He beckons days of gold
followed by the nighttime
filled with shivers from the cold.

It is time to pick the pumpkins,
acorn squash, and butternut--
put them in the freezer
for the goodness they impart.
Apples, pears, and walnuts
are being harvested as well
to create delicious treasures
for a healthy winter shell.

Cooler days just seem to call
for something cooking on the stove:
time for Shrimp and Pumpkin Curry,
a pot of aromatic Red Beans,
Sage and Walnut Pumpkin Butter
spread upon a wholegrain bread
or saucing tortellini
for a filling winter spread.

It's time to create
a healthy formula
where spices explicate the flavor--
taking sugar down to size--
in recipes far better
for the heart, and health, and eyes.

These pursuits decrease the half-life
of the wither doldrums when
idleness is created
by the binds of winter strife.
The harvest--then in storage--
promotes artistic flair
just to see the results,
small the aromatic air,
and exhilarate the taste buds
from the harvest reaped in fall.
≥∑ tkbrown 25 September 2021

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Photo Above:

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Summertime 2020

~~ a quindecim
by tkbrown
Summertime! Summertime! So glad you're here!
Apricity, grilling, picnics galore
help us appreciate you soooo much more
as Covid-19 has brought most everyone fear.
Warm weather activities all around
entice forbidden choice which does abound--
water sports, basking in alluring sun--
have beaches packed along gulf, bay, ocean.
Rivers and lakes add boating, fishing too;
camping, floating, rafting, a gumbo roux
and not a few more add to the allure--
such a tempting lot most do adore.
Social distancing does not fit the scheme,
nor does the nightmarish midnight dream
of sickness and death, the 'wakening scream.'

~~~~~~~~~~

Image Above: Seascape, Sailboating by Francine Sreca @pixabay.com.

~~~~~~~~~~

Springtime . . .

by tkbrown
Spring is rejuvenation and rebirth,
life and color revisits drab and dead
in the world round about, o'er all the earth.
As the sun warms the soil, giving earth's bed
the urge to burst forth with abundant life
to welcome beasts of the earth with fodder,
fowl of the air with delight as they strive
for nesting place and food found in nature.
Bursting forth with abundance fur nurture
as seeds lain dormant for winter now sprout,
hill and vale beckon with life and color.
Tiny yellow-green leaves seem to pop out
overnight on the limbs -- drab through winter --
and dots from the rainbow fill hooded green
hips as all floral reach for sunlight banter
upon petals reflecting healthy sheen.
Beauty splashed from God's colorful palette
brings a feast to appreciative eye
midst the sweet balance and lush complement
of the surrounding backdrop -- earth and sky.
Rounding a bend in the lush path ahead
a different view the senses observe
where lush green grasses carpet the land
with patches of brown accenting the verve.
The sun shines brightly as it warms the soil;
gardens are tilled, soil readied for planting.
Beds raised and prepared where families toil
setting and seeding their salad fixings --
onions, radishes, spinach and lettuce,
with tomatoes and cukes off to the side.
When oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's
ear, potato plantings can temps abide.
They don't grow well when temperatures soar;
so, always be sure to plant by the moon.
For corn and beans, squash and okra galore
the waxing and waning should be in tune.
Bumper crops grown by the old-time folklore
will fill cupboards, freezers and cellars too.
Springtime yearnings will fill tables and more,
and harvesting produce saves money too.