Fall is full of opportunity. We have sunny afternoons and cool mornings and evenings, making it the best of both worlds. No longer will we have that hot sun, making our skin sting like a dodgeball hit. Everything starts to set a pause button. The garden slows down, the lawns are sitting dormant and the trees whirling and swirling into their time for glory. There are cool mornings that hint at winter but we are so glad to be done with the heat of summer, we welcome them.

Fall is full of possibilities. We make plans to begin anew. Just like the children heading back to class, we set some goals for ourselves. Now we are not distracted with holidays, visiting, we can focus our time and plan head. Crisp new notebooks, sharpened pencils, bells ringing —all waiting to be put to use.

Fall is full of promise. As a farm kid in Saskatchewan, harvest was THE event of the year. Is there anything better than riding in the truck on a warm afternoon, eating a juicy peach, and waiting for the signal from the combine to pick up the next load? Toasted tomato sandwiches, pears that ripened in the middle of the night, juicy peaches from that faraway land of BC. It is all a promise of good things to come.

Patricia Coulter, Canada