Yard Work
What do I do on crisp Autumn day on Long Island?
Long Island is suburbia. House after house. Block after block. Town after town. Pick any water cooler on Long Island and you’ll hear small talk about the things people are doing around their houses. Especially at this time of year.
Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I love them all, really, and Long Island does the four seasons so well. Each comes in with conviction, yet none overpower us. But fall just has so many things going for it it’s hard not to put it at the top of my list.
The quieting of summer’s energy, the crunch and scent of fallen leaves, and those crisp, frosty mornings ease us into our winter hibernation. It feels so good to slow down.
Oh, but there I go again waxing poetic. The reality of autumn on Long Island is yard work, plain and simple. Is it hard? Yep. Is it boring? Doesn’t have to be.
We have five senses. Pay attention to them and savor what they bring you. This weekend I fixed a leaky chimney, winterized my boat, and did some yard work.
I can’t describe what I felt, smelt, tasted or heard, but…
Here’s what I saw:
The Montauk daisies that attracted so many butterflies have lost all their petals.
Windblown tomato stakes stand fruitless vigil over dead tomatoes.
Fixing a leaky chimney may be a chore, but it offers an opportunity to see things in an unusual way.
A mocking bird perched on one of my dead sunflowers.
So, what did you see?