FALLING

Fall year round would be to me perpetual bliss. Unfortunately there is a price to pay for living in such a lovely place, so close to my beloved mountains. And that is that Fall is so short lived. With the recent smattering of snow foreshadowing impending winter doom, I now pause to pay tribute to the things that make Fall truly delightful.

 
The first and best of course is General Conference! If you still haven't watched it, you should! Sit down with your computer, a blanket and a cup of cider, and get ready to scribble notes like crazy. It's well worth the investment of time. If you listen with a willing heart, whatever you're dealing with in life, you will hear exactly what you need to hear.
You can watch it here.


The next best thing about fall? Biking of course! I was lucky enough to convince my cousin to go for a ride with me around Bear Lake, a ride that I love. I forget it really is a long ways if you're not used to spending much time on a bicycle! I have high hopes though, that she will some day forgive me, because the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The air was crisp as we rode through crunchy leaves, past crashing waves and tall white grass. It reminded me of the lovely sentiment Diane Ackerman expressed when she said:

When I go biking I repeat a mantra of the day's sensations: bright sun, blue sky, warm breeze...this helps me transcend the traffic, ignore the clamorings of work, leave all the mind theaters behind and focus on nature instead. I still must abide by the rules of the road, of biking, of gravity. But I am mentally far away from civilization. The world is breaking someone else's heart.


















I didn't get a lot of hikes in this Fall, but the hiking I did do was sure great. Here's some recent pics...













 



Fall is a lovely time to be outdoors of course, but recently I've also been applying myself in the domestic arena. In my college days my diet consisted mostly of Ramen noodles, pancakes, and pizza; not only were they cheap, but they required very little time spent in the...dum dum dah dummmm...KITCHEN! Ach! I've always hated the kitchen. So it is no small indication of progress that I have been experimenting in the culinary arts. I grew a garden this year (thanks to my co-worker who provided the space), and though the harvest was moderate, it's been wonderful to have fresh vegetables at my disposal. In my attempts at a primarily vegetarian diet, I've created quite a few scrumptious dishes, some of  the most successful being zucchini bread, butternut squash soup, onion salsa, and coconut curry. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!






 
 

Then of course there are pumpkins, which are best for carving! Here are some of the results of this year's creative pursuits...Can you guess which ones are mine?





And in honor of Halloween, though it's my least favorite holiday, here's a freakish thing that Emma and I discovered writhing and squirming it's way out of a cricket on one of our climbing trips. It's actually a zombie worm, or a hair worm. The name alone is enough to conjure some disturbing thoughts, eh? These worms are parasites, that turn their victims into zombies, who generally drown themselves, allowing the worm to break free of its host and swim around in search of a mate. This silly hair worm forgot to direct its host to water before it emerged from the cricket's head, which explains why it shriveled up and died shortly thereafter. Some people go to haunted houses to get scared. The natural world houses plenty of creepy things for me.




Comments are welcome!