Autumn arrived yesterday. Winter will soon be upon us. As an old farm boy, I am quite aware of the seasons of the year. I notice the change of the length of the days and the way the light angle of the sun changes as it shines upon the fields and through my windows. Each season brings a new set of activities. On the farm the onset of spring started the planting season and as fruit farmers we anticipated the bloom of the orchards and prayed for no frost to kill the crop! Summer involved monitoring the weather for hailstorms and the appropriate amount of rain for the crops. Autumn was the harvest season. A time to gather in the largess of the orchard and fields. Winter became the season of rest and preparation for the new year. All of this was the rhythm of the agricultural economy. Fond and not so fond memories of those events.
I left the farm over 70 years ago, but the imprint of the seasonal experience still abides with me today even though I have spent a long career as an academic followed by many years of retirement. I will always be aware of the seasons. And now as I get ready to prepare for the autumnal chores of leaf raking, I will enjoy this interlude until the start of winter and the joy of being on the slopes. It is good to live in the season we are in while anticipating the variety another season will bring.
A mantra for me now is live each season as if it may your last. Great to be alive.
