Slow Season

I never really felt the rhythm of the seasons until I had a garden. Nature has a way of reminding you that life moves in cycles—ones we’re meant to move with, not rush through.

The first cool morning always catches me off guard. It’s like a soft knock on the door, whispering that the season of slowing down is coming. The long summer days early mornings, late nights, sticky heat, the endless to-do’s, and the hum of the bees start to fade. You walk outside, and suddenly the air feels alive again. It’s crisp and sweet, a little smoky, and smells like fallen leaves. The world feels different quieter, steadier, and for the first time in months, you can actually hear your own breath.

You start to notice the shift. Leaves under your boots crunch softly, like an old song you almost forgot. Somewhere, someone’s baking with cinnamon and clove, and you’re instantly seven years old again mittens, warm kitchen, waiting for the oven light to turn on. A breeze spins through, tossing a handful of maple leaves in slow motion, and you think… not everything beautiful needs to move fast.

Fall is good at teaching that. Mornings call for warm mugs and slower starts. Afternoons feel like invitations to take the long way home or just sit in the sun a little longer. Even chores soften.

Little things start to feel like luxuries again: a soft sweater, a flickering candle, the calm that comes with an early sunset. You crack open a window and let the house breathe. You close the calendar tab you don’t really need. You give yourself permission to do one thing at a time.

And in the slowing down, excitement sneaks back in not the loud kind, but that quiet hum of anticipation. The joy of gathering recipes, folding blankets, setting pumpkins on the porch. It’s the season for simple things done well, and shared generously.

So let’s follow our noses this fall. Let the apples, cedar, spice, and smoke guide you. Take the long way. Watch the light turn amber. Fall is here inviting us to slow down, breathe deep, and move at the speed of wonder.