Even before the end of August, we could feel the summer fading. The nights are cool enough to cook indoors, and the mornings are cold. We wear sweaters in the morning while eating oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon and dotted with new apples.

The first morning of September dawned colder than any morning since May. Despite the heat of July, we’re feeling ill-prepared for cool weather. Summer seemed like just a brief respite in the cold, and now it’s over. But autumn is my favorite season, even after short, intense summers. I have a chicken roasting in the oven, dotted all over with fresh, grass-fed butter; and a cup of hot tea at my elbow.

This morning was the first full day of schoolwork. We eased into schooling in August with coffee time and tea time. Today, we added our other work. Yarrow is improving the cursive she began last year and diagraming sentences; Ilya is learning to read. We’re focusing especially on grammar and language this year. I’m working especially on structure and consistency.

We’re also about a third of the way through St. Michael’s Lent – a beautiful devotion! We’re fasting in small ways during this season. It’s been an amazing opportunity for me to refocus on my intentions for this year and offer them up to Christ.

It’s also been a great opportunity to pray for friends and family members who are suffering.

Along with the fasting and structure of this new season, we’re stocking the pantry and the medicine shelf with all the winter-time necessities. Candles, food, herbal remedies, and other essentials are crowding our little house with coziness.

I have at least six books I’d love to find before winter, half a dozen recipes to make and can, and experimental soap-making to begin this fall! If this first week of September is any indication, our autumn will be as intense as the summer was. I’m looking forward to it!