One week ago, the tree beside my driveway was splendorous with leaves aglow bright yellow and orange with the last of the greens grasping on to their memories. 
It was a time of raking and rolling around with glee, in shirt sleeves none-the-less!Well, those beautiful leaves have left their happy perches on the trees to nestle down in my yard. Trick or Treating last night was done with winter coats to keep the chilly temperatures from curtailing the fun. My eldest asked me this morning what the season was now, as Halloween and October were done. While I advised her that it was still Autumn, I wasn't so sure in looking out the window.
Jack Frost had come to play, leaving helicopters grounded and the burning bush frozen in a shell pond. 
My proud dahlias bowed their heads, acquiescing that their time here was done. The faint purple of her petals destined to drop with the weight of the seasons change.
and everywhere I looked this morning evidence abounded. Here on the sedum,
there on the chives.
The seasons had changed overnight.
Ice crystals were a dead giveaway
on now last year's beautiful dahlia heads.
Even the straggling toad lily was struck down;
for shame...Ah
Ah, but I raked this morning; twelve bags I raked! I raked till I ran out of leaf bags, desperate to feel the chilly sun on my cheeks. I even filled the composter with a load and another load was stuffed into a garbage can at the curb with the other leaf bags. In my heart, I know that the Fall days are indeed numbered and that one morning I just might wake up to a world of white, more solid than the frost coating my windshield this morning. Last week it whispered, but this week the threat seems infinitely real. I am afraid that snow angels are in my near future. My raking today brought the total up to 25 bags of leaves this year. Broke last year's record! If I can get out to buy a few more bags, I suspect that I will be able to smash that record though, as my neighbours are always good to share their leaves via the wind.
So the bulbs have been dug up and the lawn mower's battery put to bed. Garden trinkets were put away a fews weeks ago. The hoses have yet to be drained and rolled away, but that should happen later this week. So many tasks before I retreat back into the cozy house to hibernate. I am wishing for a little more sunshine, but almost ready. Almost ready...
