Fall strikes back

Our Indian summer is fading into memory. Fall is tightening its grip. Temperatures are tumbling, and once golden leaves lie like brown shadows on the ground under their trees. Vineyard workers are busy replacing stakes and old vines. They are renewing certain parcels with tiny vines planted in sleeves to protect against the coming winter, filling in gaps where older, diseased vines have been pulled up. The rhythm of vineyard work beats on year 'round.

A small apple tree braces itself for winter next to an old vineyard storage shed.

I enjoy watching the changes each year, and even as I know that winter's cold and darkness are fast approaching, I also know that lighter and warmer days will follow after that. I've lived where the changes are more pronounced, where winters feel arctic and summers suffocating. I've lived where the temperature stays nearly the same all year. I prefer this to either of those. It's rarely too hot, rarely too cold. Whatever time of the year it is, whatever the changing weather brings, it usually feels the way it ought to.