Dexter Iowa Community Site

Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

If you weren’t a fan of the hot weather we have had so far this summer by the time we hit the end of the weekend a cold blast of air will cool us all down and remind us just what fall feels like. It is hard to think that this time last year farmers were in the field already and bringing in crops, but that time will come soon enough. There is something beautiful about Iowa in the fall, although for most of us it just brings a gentle reminder that winter will soon be here.

It is a gentle change that happens over the land. The dark greens of summer give way to brilliant oranges and yellows and reds as the change happens. The pastel colors of warm weather flowers resign to be replaced by the subdued colors of the fall mums and the last remaining blooming wild flowers.

Perhaps the nicest change with the cooler weather is the silence that comes from the lack of listening to air conditioning units and fans blowing all night to keep us cool as we sleep. That will last a few weeks here in the country providing for quiet nights sitting on the porch watching the stars, but soon that silence will be disturbed by the sound of the dryer fans on the grain bins firing and running throughout the night. The other excellent change is that those of us who suffer from hay fever finally will get to catch a break, which is a gentle relief until the fall cold and flu season begins.

Another thing that doesn’t thrill me about fall is that it seems like an open invitation for every mouse and crawly critter to decide at that point that my house is suddenly open for rent and they just seem to move in. From those crunchy wire worm things, to the spiders that make you jump to the friendly little field mouse who thinks that the cat food bag is an all night buffet it is as though I’ve suddenly become Yancey Tucker and opened my house up to all the animals of the earth.

Yes, we all love fall for football and pumpkin spiced latte’s but we have to draw a line somewhere. Oh sure I enjoy going to work and not coming home wringing wet, and I do enjoy that restful sleep that only comes when the windows are open and the bed room is cold enough that you have to throw an extra blanket on to keep you snuggled up warm, but enough is enough. I’m not ready for cold weather and scooping snow and worrying about keeping pipes from freezing. No, I’m not prepared for it all, although I’ve been dearly tempted to make a pot of chili yet this week for supper.

So I’ll go through my closet, and put away summer clothes and dig out the sweatshirts and make sure my winter coat still fits, but I won’t be happy about it. I would probably choose to hibernate if I could get away with it, but as we all know the change of the seasons in Iowa is one of its hidden treasures and one of the reasons we love to call it home.

See you next week…Remember, we’re all in this together.