Sunday, September 21, 2014

Harvest Time

Today is the last calender day of the summer of 14. We can say it that way because no one will confuse it with the summer of 1914. That was the summer when the first World War erupted. One hundred years ago. Seems like a lot longer somehow. Maybe that is because of all the wars and conflicts that have followed. Originally called the Great War and the war to end all war, it didn't become known as World War One till after the second world war. Makes sense doesn't it ? Only today would we name something as " The First Annual " or something similar. We think we are pretty clever doing that and counting on the future to cooperate.
Tomorrow it is officially fall. The weather is cooperating with the calender. Supposed to have temps in the forties, fall weather here in Greensboro. I have been here long enough to recognize the seasons. I have changed the greeting sign on my door. The sign now says, Harvest Time. A nod to the past. Harvest time is not as an important time of the year as in the past. Well, I should qualify that statement by saying, harvest time happens year round nowadays. Back, not too many years ago, that wasn't so. Harvest was a regional thing and what was available for consumption followed those harvests. If you lived in the northern states you didn't get strawberries in December. Also harvest time was when the farmer " reaped " his rewards. A good harvest set the tone for the next year. Fall was the real beginning for them. Or fall could spell the end.
For me fall means getting ready for the winter. It is a lot easier than in years past. We don't have to change the screens for storm windows, just slide them up or down. Modern heating systems, no chopping wood. Our bed clothing doesn't change. Oh, we may add a quilt but it more for show and a habit of a lifetime than necessity. Our choice of meals will change. Time for those comfort foods again. Nothing like a good pot roast on a brisk fall day. Hot chocolate will make it's appearance. Warm apple cider for those so inclined. Was a day when we would see huge piles of brightly colored leaves but now they mostly get mulched. If fall had a smell it would be burning leaves.
After fall arrives and the rest of the year goes speeding by. Holidays in rapid succession until we reach the exhaustion of January and a new year. But first I will enjoy this early part of fall, a light sweater and sitting by a fire. The harvest is in and we count our blessings. Fall is a gentle time unlike the harshness of winter or the storms of summer. Fall is a brief interlude, a time to reflect and make plans for the next year. Just because you are not a farmer doesn't mean you shouldn't reap your rewards. What have you sown this year, this season in life ? What about your harvest ? I have much to be thankful for. I look forward to the next season of growth and God willing I will sow good seeds and have a bountiful harvest. I must do my best to be a good farmer and a good husband. Maybe that is why they call it " husbandry ? "
It is true that you reap what you sow. It is the continued care of what you sow however that creates good results. Do not neglect your responsibility. It is not enough to just have the farm, you must work it. 

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