

So much on the homestead list during this seasonal change and only a few hours allotted today, putting away the patio furniture and raking and getting the storm windows washed and up, and damn if one of the sills isn’t chipped and needs to be painted and on another window the exterior casing is coming off and must be tightened up, these extra tasks biting into my time, I’m not going to get done what I hoped to today, and I haven’t even started on the raking and the pruning and the cleaning out the garage to fit the cars, and where the hell did I drop my gloves, and then I stop and take a breath and even though I’ve walked past this part of the house a dozen times today I only notice what’s in front of me for the first time, the brilliant, stunning spectrum of leaves and lingering blooms, and my mood changes immediately and entirely, if only I could keep it this way, what is the secret to that.