Advice from a small town girl

This is my favorite time of the year.

It’s the time of year that is somehow linked with my memories of it finally being cool enough to wear those new school clothes.

There’s something really satisfying about going out to the now-finished garden, cleaning up the beds, digging the spuds, preparing for the winter and, in so doing, the spring.

There’s a sense of relief that I will have a few months off from moving sprinklers, remembering to water the flowerpots, and weeding.

I love my first glimpse of the colorful pumpkin patch after the vines have died back. I even love harvesting the first ton o...