An Autumn Day

It's finally getting chilly here as we prepare to take Riley for a walk.  I now feel that winter is coming rather than just knowing that it will eventually arrive.  I no longer work with my window open and have had to turn the heat on at night.  I am looking outside at our cherry tree that will soon drop its leaves--becoming a mere skeleton of branches to greet me as I start work each morning; fitting, I guess since Halloween is only two weeks away.  I do not like the cold and imagine when we go sailing today, my feelings for falling temperatures will be sufficiently reinforced to admit that this might be the last sail of the season.  Already, I can't wait for spring.  But I know that I will appreciate the warmth so much more after having lived through another winter.  So bring it on.  I'll be ready with down blankets and late night fires, replacing the summer sound of waves on the beach with crackling burning wood.