Autumn Wrap Up in New England

I’m taking the easier way out for this month’s blog post, as this writer has deadlines and tired/strained eyes from too much screen time and/or bingeing on a show with subtitles. So…I’m doing a visual wrap up of my fall so far! We are now past mid-October, meaning our peak fall foliage is winding down. But, wow, what a gorgeous fall we’ve had so far!

My Fall Favorites this year:

1. Raspberry bushes bursting with abundance — so happy! Looking forward to making jam this winter.

2. Fall Foliage near and far — my stomping ground of central Massachusetts.

3. A visit to Mystic, CT with my bestie.

4. Apples galore! My macoun apples, with some TLC (I am a helicopter gardener), provided!

5. A second weekend away in our new favorite place in Vermont: Mad River Valley of the Green Mountains

6. Our new kitty is feeling quite at home.

7. Kayaks and hikes.

8. Book fairs, signings, and other author events.

9. Writing a few more new books (stay tuned!).

10. New audio book releases this fall/winter.

11. Family Love.

12. Amazing sunsets.

Timing: Fur-babies and Flower-babies

Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, the saying goes.

Timing.

Hundreds of quotations exist on it.

We’re working through a rough season in our home. Like my two characters in one of my books, I ponder whether things happen for a reason (fate/universe/God), or by coincidence. I lean toward the first camp in fate vs. coincidence. Does timing have meaning?

IMO, yes.

Last year, I lost a loved one at Thanksgiving, and a close friendship dissolved shortly before then, too. Some anxiety challenges in our home with one child, transitions galore, job challenges…It was a rough fall.

Then came spring/summer.

Last day in the sun. Saying goodbye to our beloved Indy.

I was supposed to have been out of state this weekend on a press tour/writing media trip. It got delayed (for some reason by the PR company). Then our 15-year-old cat, our beloved Indy (named after yes, Indiana Jones) took a sickly downward spiral while we were away on vacation over Independence Day. We rushed home while our cat-sitter took Indy to the vet on July 5th; thank goodness they were open! She just happened to be checking in on my cat and gardens when he got very sick. I was grateful she was here. Indy was our son’s BFF and one of my fur-babies before human-babies. My son had to go away to a camp two days later. Thankfully, Indy came home from the vet and made it to see his bestie again. Another week later, after diligent hospice care and TLC, Indy joined the warrior cats in the sky. Now we are all processing the grief. But the timing…we are thankful we were here for him.

15 years of love…

Well, hmm, that timing thing? We had planned to adopt a new cat for the kids—a three-month in-the-making surprise. It was all planned ahead of time. When Indy fell ill, we told the kids about the surprise, and the new cat arrived last week per the already planned schedule…and such a joy she’s been to add to our family. Not meant to be a replacement, but rather a companion for Indy, here she is, my new buddy sitting beside me while I write, and a youthful spirit for the kids. She is chatty, sweet, affectionate, and frisky! Another interesting point: the cat’s name is Tres (she was found and fostered; a young 1-year-old momma with three kittens, hence Tres). I am revising a new book where the protagonist has cats; one is named Tres. I do not lie. This naming happened BEFORE we even knew of our new cat’s existence. Eerie…or fate? Timing?

Tres looking out her favorite spot, and over my petunias.

Mother Nature, usually a BFF of mine (as I love everything nature…landscapes, wildlife, exploring our world’s gems), served me a cold dose of reality this summer. My flower gardens are my third love (after family/pets and writing)…they even come before coffee! This year, the rabbits, voles, ants, beetles, fungi/microbes and God-knows what else have decided my numerous and bountiful gardens are their all-you-can-eat buffet.

How can a person become so attached to flowers? I don’t know. Flowers are my utopia. They bring me joy. I baby them. To see meadow sage and phlox I planted ten years ago and have nurtured since, be taken out in one fell swoop—heart-wrenching. Catmint nibbled. Day lilies devoured from the ground up. Raspberries chewed by beetles (still holding hope for a fall crop…), apple trees that have struggled since their planting years ago once again dropping leaves and unripe fruit. Asiatic lilies gave up the fight against the beetles this spring. So much loss.

…I replanted some flowers, repeatedly, only to have the voles delight in another a la carte meal. I hired the Vole Whisperer to come and do his magic…and I *hope* we’ve taken a positive turn after the carnage. I’ve got zealous voles apparently. So-many-holes.

Why all this ramble? Well, it’s been a rough year. But it all comes back to timing. Things happen when they are supposed to…at least I think so. Bummed over my missed trip, I was grateful to be here for Indy’s final days. My cat sitter happened to visit Indy at just the right moment. This weekend, my children’s grandparents had planned to come, in time to help ease the kids’ balms (though that was not the original reason for the visit). Tres joined our family at just the right time. Another missed trip that worked out for the better. Indy waiting for his BFF to return from camp before he passed on to the next life.

Timing.

Now, I am still trying to figure out my timing on the flowers. Hindsight. Maybe this fall I’ll know why. Or next summer.

Timing of course passes over into other parts of our lives, too. I’ve seen it on my road to publication (and still see it while running the course). Hindsight really is twenty-twenty. Until then, I keep doing what I am doing.