Nothing Says Fall Like a Wildfire

I am writing this post at the tail end of some wildfire drama here in the Northwest. It is in my nature to make light of the craziness that is so easily created when things happen that are outside the ordinary. But, too many people have lost their homes and families around me for me to even consider going there. So, I will go in a different direction and simply say that I am grateful that all I had to deal with was the packing and unpacking of a few emergency suitcase that never needed to be used and some smoke filled skies.

My homes have always meant a lot to me. They are where I am my most comfortable self. I have spent a lifetime curating a personal place of beauty and rest. As I was making a list of what would need to be taken if we were told to go, I was surprised to find that other than a few days worth of clothes, some legal documents and my family and cats, nothing else came to mind. Nothing that I owned was so precious that it could not be left behind. My home is an extension of me, but it is not who I am. A new home can be made to feel just as warm and inviting as this one as long as I remember what is really valuable in life. I guess for me that must be family, cats and a few days worth of clothes.

This past Labor Day, I went around my home adding a few fall touches. I brought out a couple of fall pillow covers that I had stored in the linen closet. I put out some accessories that I had recently purchased on a visit to my sister's as part of a challenge made to each other. As a final touch, I placed a new fall throw on my white couch. I will even admit to standing in a line outside of my HomeGoods on a Saturday afternoon waiting to be one of the 85 people allowed in to shop during these strange days of social distancing in order to purchase this throw.

The line between summer and fall seemed to be drawn just a few days after putting these things around the house. In one afternoon, the sky changed color as some rare easterly winds blew through. When the winds finally quieted down, they had left quite a bit of destruction and more than a few wildfires. The heat of summer seemed to dissipate as the smoke from the fires drifted in along with cooler temperatures. Fall had arrived.

It is not the fresh crisp season that I am used to, at least not at the moment. But, nevertheless it is here.

Here are some pictures of this year's fall at the LeBlanc Home. They are a little different than ones from the past as the smoke made for a different kind of lighting. I like that they are a little darker. They seem cozier than in the past, making home seem a little more a place of comfort.