Fall is When...

Fall Is When…
Here is something I just found while sorting old stuff. I wrote this for Kathie in the fall of 2006, and wanted to share it.
I do not recall what exactly inspired this, or what was happening at the moment… But I do recall the feeling it created….
As I retype it, it seems to represent so many possibilities. Perhaps you will find it represents Life. Perhaps you will find comfort in a recent death. Perhaps you are blue from the onset of winter. Perhaps you find no greater joy then the onset of spring. I think this can fit any and all of these… And Much Much More! May you find what you need in the words I wrote so long ago…

Fall Is The Time of Year When…
…The Dark of night creeps into our light.

…All the critters are nesting and storing food away.
The time of frolic and play is going to go away.

…The warmth of the sun turns crisp and cool.
The comfort feels like it is on the run.

…Tan lines quickly fade away.

…All the beauty and color of summer begin to fade.

…The blooms will curl up to die.

…The greens will start to turn brown.


This surely feels like a good time to frown!
As we feel the dread of the loss of our true comfort of summer,

Everything seems to go grey and cold.
We realize nature must take away before
It can give us even more!

For as the night comes all too fast,
We suddenly have moon and stars to last!

As The critters retreat into hiding,
Snowmen and Snow Angels come out from
Where they have been residing!

As the warmth of the sun seems to abandon us,
Suddenly we are amazed at how spectacular the glistening
Of the frost fills our desire,
And we embrace the comforting warmth of the fire!
We remember the comfort of that old favorite sweater!




As the tree leaves are seeming to be about to curl up and die,
We realize the spectacular beauty they give us as they go!




As the flowers begin to shrivel & drop,
We surely notice what seems like a loss…


…UNTIL SPRING…

…It is then, we are suddenly surprised
By the gift of love those flowers so carefully left behind,
As they were all-to-eager to go away.
Somehow we always fail to notice how much we gain
As something we love goes away.
We quickly forget during the cold
What beauty we truly hold.

How we wish what we had,
Was still here,
Because, truly we become sad.
Those flowers that died
Left tiny little seeds scattered all around us.
After the snow melts,
We cannot believe how much that dying flower gave us!

Come the Spring,
We feel so loved and so blessed
By what seemed a truly great loss in the fall.
The sunrises are more spectacular than we remember!
The critters that went away created baby critters
To show us it is time to play!
The warmth of the sun that had gone
Is now warmer than before!
We have more flowers now,
Than ever before!
Fall and winter seem to be the signs
Of what we loved going away.
But instead it turns out to be
The Most Beautiful Way!

I signed the note with the following:
Written by JOn
Inspired by life!
Motivated by Kathie!
Kathie, You Created this writing…
You truly are a beautiful creation.
You are the flower spreading your seeds.
You are wonderful!
This is but just a small way to say thank you! Love, JOn

Welcome Fall!

Fall has Arrived

Fall has officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere.

As fall settles-in, our thoughts tend to shift from summer activities toward colder weather, the holidays, and eventually winter. As the sun gets dramatically lower on the southern horizon, it is darker longer in the mornings, and night falls all too quick in the evenings. We hold on to any last bits of sunshine we can collect. We plan activities that take advantage of the warmth for the few days we know we have left. The end of summer tells us it is time to bring-in the patio furniture, time to get out our warmer clothes, and even the gloves, scarves, and wool hats.

In the past, I have lived in many places where the above is true. Living in Oregon, and Washington the end of summer was not really so noticeable, because there was no real summer. If we got warmth, it was only occasional, and rather sporatic. In The Northwest, it was seldom above 80 degrees, and the few hot days we got never lasted long enough to warm the earth below our feet. In the Northwest, we expect frost to come soon after The Fall Equinox.

This year, I am living in Las Vegas. This is a different climate for me, and I am loving it! We are still getting temperatures above 100 degrees, and we have mostly sunny days. In early September, we entered what the locals call “Monsoon season”. This is also new to me. This is when Vegas gets most of its rain. When it rains here, it comes in hard, and fast. Everything floods for a few hours, then is completely dry again. It can be 100-degrees, than it rains for a little while, cools down to about 80, then the sun comes back out, and it is hot again. I find this fascinating. In the evenings, we get down into the 70’s, but that is hardly cold compared to Oregon, or Washington. All summer long, the sun has warmed the earth below our feet, so the ground is still radiating warmth. The rain evaporates quickly.

Usually I am aware of the official changes of seasons, and it has always felt like a change for me when they come. This time, I was slightly surprised that the Fall Equinox actually came and went without my realizing it. I KNEW the calendar date, but it had not registered in my inner-calendar. This made me laugh, and really understand how different the climate is here. I KNOW in my mind that this is when the cold sets-in, and it really messes with me that I can still wear shorts while the sun is up. September is almost gone, and I am wearing shorts! This is just not right. ~Grin~ But I Totally love it! The sun is definitely lower, and the days are shorter, but it still feels like summer.



Downtown Portland, Oregon

My mind is arguing with itself. One part of it is automatically reaching for the coat, and the other part is reaching for the sandals. Every Fall, I really dread the leaving of the sunshine. My body thrives in the sun. (That is the reason I moved to Vegas.) Even while walking, wearing shorts, I find myself looking at the foliage. I KNOW those leaves are going to turn color, and soon fall to The Earth. But they have not begun to turn yet. Even though I dread the loss of sunshine as Fall sets-in, I am always thrilled to watch nature paint us a beautiful picture.



Train Tracks in Portland, Oregon

When the leaves fall, they are essentially dead, but for some reason, they are often more beautiful than when they were just merely green on the trees. As they turn color, the hues are incredible. As they fall, they dance, and flutter as if to make one final performance in the breeze before they add their nutrients to the soil from which they originally sprouted.





As we see the dried leaves blown around on the ground, and forming other artistic designs, if you look closely, you might see more than just a pile of leaves.

What do You See? Fall is Beautiful.

As Fall enters your world, may you find the beauty it holds. May you see more than just dead leaves. I hope you find the joy in the show our God had created just for you!

Have a Wonderful Fall Day!
And Thank You for reading My blog! JOn ~=:-)

My Favorite Blanket Came out of Storage Last Night

My Favorite Blanket came out of storage last night.

Yesterday was Labor Day. To many people in The U.S., it marks the unofficial end of summer. The reason it is unofficial, is because that is usually the last long weekend they have while the weather is still good. Often schools begin again immediately following Labor Day (although lately many across the nation have begun in August). The Official end of summer is not actually until the Fall Equinox, September 21st. However, when Labor Day arrives, one notices dramatic changes in the season.

I am currently living in Las Vegas. Vegas is in The Mojave Desert, so it would come as no surprise that we see temperatures well-above 100 degrees all summer long. I moved here in February from Oregon, specifically to enjoy the warm climate. March, and April, the temps started to warm up enough that I could sleep with the windows wide open, but still needed a blanket. By the time June came around, I had long since packed-away all the blankets, and occasionally needed a sheet while sleeping. Once July came, we had daily temperatures that were never below 100 degrees, often mid-day saw 110-115. I Leave my windows wide open, and they face south, so my apartment would easily reach 110-115 by evening. Ahhhh, The most perfect climate for me! During the night, I would sleep with a fan in the window, and one at the foot of my bed. Never needing even a sheet, and I Loved it! By morning, the temperature outside had dropped to about 90 degrees, sometimes in the 80’s, but it not got “chilly”. (My body defines chilly as anything below 80 degrees.) This is just how my body is, I have no say-so in how I was made. I am comfortable at anything above 80, and chilly at anything below 80.

Irony: Yesterday was Labor Day. It was also the very first day in many months where the temperature did not reach 100. Vegas had clouds, and drizzle all day. Do ya suppose the Sun decided it was done with summer, and took a holiday?  The sunsets are now happening right around 7 and completely dark by 8. It was less than a month ago, I could watch the sunset around 9, and darkness did not come until 10. I have watched as the arc of the sun has gotten dramatically lower, and high-noon now casts a quite long shadow. The sunrises are not happening at 5 anymore. The first signs of daylight are not until 6.

With Temperatures below 100 yesterday, and a breeze last night, I pulled out my favorite blanket before bed. I knew it would get chilly by morning. It did. My apartment was close to 70 degrees when I woke at 5 this morning. Outside was 72 degrees with a cool breeze. I always make my coffee, and go enjoy the morning on my balcony. I love everything about being outside as much as possible. Watching the day come to life with a fresh cup of coffee, in my comfy chair on my balcony is a beautiful way to start the day. Even in the City of Las Vegas, one can find nature all around them if they look. I hear an owl every morning in a nearby tree. I see birds looking for breakfast, I see the stars fade, as the dawn breaks. I see the color f the sky turn from black, to grey, to light blue, to pinks, purples, and finally brilliant blue as the sun reports for work every morning.
I usually can come and enjoy my morning on the balcony without even a blanket. This morning, was a bit too chilly for me. For me, needing to grab a blanket is not a bad thing. But I do not grab just any blanket. I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL BLANKET ever created, and it is MY FAVORITE BLANKET! What makes this blanket so wonderful?

On my 37th birthday in 2005, I was living in the garage of my best-friend’s house. I had gotten pneumonia again. I was working too many hours, and running myself ragged. I came home from work, and the ONLY thing I wanted to do was crash-out, and sleep. My friend (Cara) texted me when she saw me pull in the driveway to ask me to come inside the house for a few minutes. I wanted to ignore the text, and just go crash-out. There are many people I can just ignore, and a rare few that I absolutely could not. Cara was one of those few I cherished, and would not ignore. I had to go see what she wanted. When I walked inside, she could see how horrible I felt. She hugged me, and told me to stand there a minute. Then she came out, and wrapped a blanket around me. She hugged me, held me, and said “Happy Birthday.” Even in my wishing I were dead sickness, I could see the love that was just wrapped around me!

This, I Knew was THE MOST WONDERFUL, LOVE-FILLED Birthday present I had ever received! This blanket was the first one I had ever had that was actually longer than I was. It was not a tiny little blanket. Nor was it a skimpy, almost worthless thing that someone just threw together fast. The colors matched my personality perfectly, the yarn was heavy, and the knitting was done perfectly! As I admired this wonderful work of craftsmanship (or craftswomanship), She explained how hard it was to create. It was no small little knitting project she could easily stuff under a cushion when I came in. It was twice as big as she was, and not a light-weight, easy, fast project. She had found a yarn that matched my personality perfectly. The color was variegated, starting at the darkest blue possible, going through the entire color-spectrum all the way to the lightest yellow possible.

This blanket was knit to have plenty of warmth, but with large enough holes in the pattern to for it to allow air both in and out. It created warmth, but never made me sweat. I could be warm, and still feel the fresh-air through it. One of my favorite things to do at night is to watch the stars wearing nothing at all. This is not always easy when it is cold outside. This blanket became my star-gazing wrap. I could still feel like I was nekkid, yet have warmth. I could feel the night-air, yet not be freezing parts off.

There were many things I left behind when I (literally) ran-away from life as I knew it in Oregon in August of 2005, But this blanket was not one of those things. While I am not trying to make light of that whole situation by just glossing-over it, I only mention it to show the reference and importance of this blanket, and what it represented. (Eventually, I will write in detail about that event).
When one is running away, there also is irony: Every night when I would find a secure place to sleep a few hours, what did I wrap myself in? Yup, even sleeping under the stars in a corn-field, I slept with only the wrapping of Cara’s blanket. It Helped. After I settled in Virginia, and was back in contact with Cara again, one of the first things she asked me was, “You didn’t get rid of the blanket, did you?” We both understood what this blanket was. I even took it into The Salvation Army Shelter. Even though I knew it was a risk, because nothing was safe in that place…. But I also believe there is more in this blanket than just yarn. As Cara put herself into this blanket, God also wove himself into every fiber. (No, I am not saying this blanket IS God, nor do I worship this blanket AS God). I Believe God has a hand in all things created with love.

Virginia has some of the most breath-taking thunderstorms I have seen. They often came through during a summer night. I always went outside to watch them, wrapped in only this blanket. I would sit on the hood of my car, leaning against the windshield, and using the cover of the carport to stay just out of the storm’s drenching. Even in summer, the storms blew cold. The wind, and rain were wild! In this blanket, I was kept warm, yet through the large holes, I could feel every bit of nature in it’s fury. The wind and rain would hit my skin, the blanket would be wet, but I never got cold. I had two wonderful neighbors there. Lucy was a 22-year old college girl. Sandy was a 42-year old lady who had never met a male she could trust. Often, they would come and join me on the hood of my car, and all three of us would wrap in this blanket. They each were so completely different in everything about their lives. Lucy loved to be naked, and loved the storms. Sandy would never go naked (except on Memorial Day.. You can read about that here: http://enterwithanopenmindorclosedeyes.blogspot.com/2012/06/get-naked-on-roof-for-memorial-day.html ) , and was scared to death of storms. All three of us fit perfectly. Sandy, the one who would never go naked, and even was not comfortable seeing naked until she met us, for some reason found comfort in the company of two who were not at all uncomfortable with it. She also found comfort and safety in a storm from two people who not only loved storms, but went out into them. I say it was the blanket ~Grin~ You decide.

This Blanket has traveled across The United States twice. It has moved to new homes along with me dozens of times. It has held me close, kept me warm, and reminded me there is love. There is not a single time I use it, or even see it, that does not make me smile.

The photo at the top of this page was taken at 5:30 this morning. The first chilly morning. This is Wonderful! Coffee, Early morning Chill, and THE MOST WONDERFUL BLANKET EVER CREATED!

Thank You, Cara! I Love You, and always feel your loving, caring, hands in every stitch against my body.