Michigan Details

Michigan has never been my home, but after all of these years, the wistful tug is there. It appears when I see a photo of the Upper Peninsula or daydream about that great, snow-covered historic home with the wrap-around porch in Sault Ste. Marie. It's there when we drive by a crumbling house in Detroit and when we see how people are saving those spaces and making them whole again. The tug is there.

It's there in the big dreams, and it's there in the little details. It's in the soft light whispering through the window, and it's there in the crackle of the fireplace, so welcome when the cold winds outside numb my toes. It's there in fallen leaves and birds' nests and that wild turkey that waddles down the street every now and again.

Could this all be home one day? I don't know. And in some ways, I'm okay with not knowing. Until then, I'll keep dreaming and savoring these small moments that we get every now and again. I will plan our getaway to more northern lands and dream of the house we will fix up one day-- hardwood floors, fireplaces, and snow outside. And quiet. It will be so so quiet.

 

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Corn Maze

The very last thing the hubs and I did before departing Lancaster County was stop at a corn maze. Is there anything more quintessentially autumn than a corn maze? Maybe a pumpkin patch/corn maze combo. Regardless, I was pumped to properly ring in the season with some corn maze action. Those cornfields hold some magic for me, and I was excited to wander through them for a while longer.

 

Since this was the only corn maze I've ever done, I don't know how it compares to others. In my opinion, it was amazingly fun. Do other mazes have people searching for clues throughout the maze? If not, then they totally should, because if there's anything better than a corn maze, it's a corn maze with a competitive edge-- bring it. 

I have a terrible sense of direction, so while the hubs expertly navigated us to our next clue, I skipped along, marveling at the corn and kicking at old animal bones that poked out of the mud. Slightly creepy, but I figure that in farmland like this, there's bound to be a bone or two buried under there. It made it, err, more authentic? Anyway, my jeans and Chucks ended up covered in mud, but it was deliciously fun.

An hour later, we exited the maze victorious, stopping only to pet the baby cow and to collect our prize: a corn pen. Yes, it is made of biodegradable corn-based plastic! Best. Pen. Ever.

Have you ever done a corn maze before? What was it like? This might be a contender for my favorite autumn activity!

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Autumn in the Countryside

The seasons come more alive in the country. In those sprawling hills of corn, the breeze whispers of secrets yet to come, and nature stands tall without the distractions of flashing lights and loud cars. In the country, autumn is alive.

Our weekend getaway in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was one of those weekends where I honestly believe I could live the rest of my life tucked away in a red farmhouse and feel more connected with my environment with every step through the fields and every bitterly cold gust of wind. It's the type of place where you are thankful that such lands exist, Amish farmland that you pray will stay in the family for generations to come so that somebody will love it, work it, and save it.

Rickety, wooden covered bridges. Cornfields. Pumpkins. Bicycles. Amish farmers. Cornfields. Chickens and goats and horses. Did I mention the cornfields? Those huge swaths of land are truly awesome, in the proper sense of the word. I kept begging the hubs to pull over to the side of the winding country roads so I could marvel at the cornfields. It was so windy that weekend, and the rustle of the cornhusks in the wind almost sounded like the ocean. Their dry skins shook against each other, and I felt chills as I tried to decipher their song. I don't quite know what they were saying, but on some basic level I understood.

In those moments as I stood at the side of the road, I let my eyes close, as they often do when that familiar, thrilling rush of joy wells up in my chest, and I grinned, face turned upward to the cloud-covered sky and felt utterly connected to this land. This wonderful, sprawling, countryside land that is miles away from the pavement and the city, this marvelous land that makes me believe in peace and hope, this simple and muddy and beautiful land that will always hold a bit of magic for me. This, I know, I truly believe, is autumn in the countryside.

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Autumn Wishes

Oh, Portrait Gallery.... The government has shut you down.

 I have to admit that I totally did not realize yesterday morning that the federal government had shut down. It somehow slipped from my realm of awareness what with all of the accidentally sleeping through my alarm and wandering the hallways of my office building in search of coffee, and then a few hours into the day, I browsed the Washington Post website and went, "Huh. Okay. Missed that."

Yeah.... Not everyone who lives in DC works for the government. I am one of those people.

There are so many reasons why this shutdown makes my head hurt (now that I realize it exists), but once it started to sink in that monuments are now closed, museums are now shuttered, and the panda-cam is offline (Noooooooo!!!!!!!!), I had the sudden urge to rush to all of those places and burst through the barriers. What is it about something being placed off-limits that makes you want to grab it all?

Since my Project DC list will face some challenges if this shutdown persists, I started thinking about the other ways I can enjoy the area as autumn drifts our way. I might not be able to do a proper tour of the National Portrait Gallery, but surely there are lovely seasonal activities that will hit the spot. Pumpkin and apple picking are still on my list, though I will probably need to round up a crew soon for those ventures. That, of course, opens up the possibility of wandering through a corn maze, which, after our weekend in Lancaster, is my new favorite life activity (especially if there are prizes involved--- I really like prizes).

Then there are autumn foods. Butternut squash, pumpkin, apple spice... Mmmm. Autumn dishes are all about comfort and warmth, and I want to start incorporating the season produce into my cooking ventures. More visits to the farmers market? Maybe even exploring a new market?

There are some good possibilities for adventures here, and I hope that I get to experience at least some of them. October just might be one of my favorite months, and I think that more than anything, I just wish for enjoyment. I wish for savoring and being happy and being present.

What do you wish for this fall? How do you savor this season?

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