Fall has always been the season of new beginnings for me. I was hired at my most memorable jobs In the fall. I got married to my husband in the fall. I became self-employed in the fall and I applied for the Master Gardener program in the fall.

In the garden, fall is the best time to plant shrubs and trees, a good time to mulch the garden, harvest my favorite fruits, clean up and amend the garden beds for the next plantings.

I've always been busy in the fall. But not today, not right now.

As I write this, I'm sitting on my “napping chair” watching life go by; next to a pot of fragrant tulsi or holy basil (Ocimumtenuiflorum)  and it's an amazing experience.

photo by Tina Saravia

I see little birds perching on the passionfruit vine, the gutter, and any other surfaces they find;   a white moth fluttering and briefly touching the roses. I hear the calls of crows and the sound of little feet running above me - hoping they're little bird feet and the sound of moving vehicles out on the highway.

Our two chickens, Grey and Goldie are contentedly and vigorously taking a dust bath, in the newly prepared planting area for my winter greens - shedding-off bugs and eating them afterward. What efficient creatures they are! 

I see the postal worker dropping off today's mail, the delivery truck stopping in front of the neighbor's house to drop off their purchases; the ever-changing blue sky with the wispy changing clouds.

I feel like I'm truly enjoying my garden and living in the moment.

Pretty soon it will be time to deadhead the roses, take cuttings from the tulsi, and re-do the planting bed the chickens so enjoyed taking a bath in.

But for now, I'm staying in my seat and enjoying the fruits of my labor and what nature has to offer. I may even take a nap.