The Beauty of Autumn

After three years of being away at college during this season, I finally got to attend the local Apple Harvest Festival again! Apple tasting, hay rides through the orchard, munching on an apple dumpling, listening to old-timey music, drinking tart (and utterly delicious) apple cider, and catching up with good friends - it was a great time!

My sister, me, and my mom on the hayride. =) 
(Yes, we like to match with our Snoopy shirts!)

A view of the orchard while on our hayride. 

Just look at those gorgeous apples!

Is there anything like enjoying good food and good conversation with good music playing in the background? 

There is so much to enjoy during the autumn - the harvest, the colors of the leaves, the weather that wavers between warm and cold. It's a season of beginnings and endings. 

Now is the time to gather in all the fruits of the field and the garden. 

Now is the time for the trees to let go of their old leaves and wait for the new to come. 

Now is the time for celebrating what has grown - and making room for change to occur.

Isn't it interesting how many people love fall? The leaves are dying, and nature is on its way to a season of bareness and cold. And yet there is so much beauty in the colors and even in the melancholy, thoughtful aura that surrounds everything. 

It's a wonderful reminder that in a season when things should seem bleak and depressing (and perhaps are at times), God provides beauty and bounty in many unexpected and enchanting ways. 

I hope you are enjoying the beauty of autumn!

(You can learn more about Clendenen's - the orchard we visited for the apple harvest festival - HERE. And when they say they have "the best cider you'll ever taste," they aren't kidding!)