Coming home

When I stepped out onto the porch early this morning, I was instantly captured by the crispness of the air and the puddles of moonshine on the lawn. It was fall at its best: quiet and cool and sparkling.

I had to stop in my tracks and just take a minute to stand there -- with my face to the stars -- and drink it all in.

Moments like that make autumn my favorite season. Yes, spring satisfies my passion and summer warms my soul, but fall comforts me and welcomes me home like an aproned mother holding a plate of just-baked cookies.