Saturday, August 22, 2015

A Saturday Morning on the Cusp of Autumn

Autumn,
it's been in the air.
I sense a meteorological shift that I usually don't feel this early in the year at this altitude.

Some mornings or evenings, the air is so cool and crisp, I think I am again living in the mountains.
"Close enough," I think to myself.
While I don't live in the mountains,
I live in the next best place:  in a valley that begins at the foothills of the Front Range of Colorado.

Hints of atmospheric changes surround me.

  Fresh cool air soothes me as I fall asleep at night.
The sounds  of the six o'clock bells from the church at
 Mount St. Francis,  
carried a mile down the valley to my house by gentle valley breezes, 
awaken me each morning at 6:00 as they drift into an open bedroom window.

For many school has begun.
Autumn is on its way.

We are on the cusp of autumn.

Cusp

[kuhsp] 

noun

a point that marks the beginning of a change
a point of transition: turning point, edge, verge

Transition is never an easy thing for me.
I've never been able to transition from one point of time to another easily.
I stay firmly planted in the time in which I find myself,
even as I wish to transition to another time.
I'm in no hurry to transition to autumn.

I recognize that the days and nights are changing.
Another season will soon draw to an end, and we will be entering another one.

Today, a Saturday on the cusp of autumn,
wishing to hang on to the few summer days we have left,
I ask my husband if he would like to go to the 




It is no secret that I love going to the Margarita at Pine Creek.
It is only two miles from my house.
One of my favorite summertime things to do is to have breakfast outside on one of the patios for this restaurant on a Saturday.
It is unbelievable that today is the first time this year we have attended the Farmers' Market held here.

It is windy when we arrive.
We both are hungry, so we decide to eat before we shop for produce.
Jim knows what I love to eat on these special Saturday mornings:  artichoke and feta egg puffs.
"Of course I will also share some coffee cake with you." I say to him with a smile.
The coffee cake is also one of my favorite things.
Yum!

He orders my breakfast treat as I search for a table in the shade.
Tables are hard to find.
Tables in the shade are even harder to find.
I find us a place just as the wind really begins to kick-up.
One of the helpers comes over to the table and takes down the umbrella that provides shade.
She says, "This wind is making this table a dangerous place with the umbrella up.  If you want shade, you may go into the lower patio."

Usually, I would want to be where the action is among all the other folks who are enjoying the ambiance of The Margarita.
Today, there is no live band, so I really am quite happy about going to the patio where there is shade and no other people.

In this quiet and sheltered place,
one of my favorite places to be,
a place where I have memories of meals shared with loved ones and dear friends,
I am able to eat, reflect, and takes photos without any distractions.

I find a table under a rustic canopy made of native tree branches.


I admire the unique designs of the building that houses the main restaurant.
"I love this place."
I think to myself,
These summer Saturday mornings are nearly gone for this year; enjoy the gift of today in this place.

I admire the ponderosa pine that gives us additional shelter from the sun.
The wind has stopped.
"Look at the size of that ponderosa," I say to Jim.
I wonder how long it has been in this spot.


Gazing at the tree, and the perfect setting for a table,
I remember playing under a favorite tree during the carefree days of childhood.
 Inspired by the stories about pioneers and native American Indians,
my cousins, sister and I would build make-believe tepees under pine trees.
We would pretend we lived in the wild and lived under trees.
We would sweep pine needles into a pile, cover them with doll blankets and put our "babies" to bed.

I notice a delphinium planted in a pot and placed next to our table.
Note to self:  Next year think outside the box.  
Plant a delphinium in a pot on the porch where the deer can't get it.  
Sometimes we must look at things with a new slant 
if the way we have always done things is no longer working. 

After I have eaten, I go exploring with my iPhone camera.

I've been on the patio before, but it was always filled with people.
I'm excited to find all the great spots where great food can be enjoyed during lunch and dinner.


Nasturtiums growing in boxes create a nice background for this spot.


I've never seen this area before.


I guess the funkiness of design is what always fascinates me about The Margarita at Pine Creek.
Everywhere I looks, I see small touches that add to whimsical charm of this place.
See the dog footprints in the cement.
I love that.


We lingered at our table under the trees enjoying the surroundings and the beauty of the day.
A unique circumstance of a gust of wind had allowed us to have this private place to enjoy our breakfast today.
It was the perfect place to enjoy a late summer Saturday.

Too soon, I remember we came for produce,
so we made our way to the Farmers' Market in the area just below our quiet place of retreat.

The harvest is another reminder that summer is nearly over.
Autumn can't be far off.

Cusp

a noun: person, place or thing

Cusp - a place

Like it our not, summer is drawing to a close.
We are on the cusp of autumn.

This is a time of transition.
What will the next season bring?






23 comments:

  1. Great post! Made me want to join you in that special place.
    As the summer winds down and the school year begins, I have to remend myself each August that now, in retirement, summer is not over for me until the calendar says it is, and I will hang on to each and every day of it.

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  2. A wonderfully written post. Made me want tobee there to relax adn have coffee.

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  3. In hot, humid, 90-degree-Macon I am more than a little envious. Autumn will be welcomed.

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  4. Here's hoping next season brings peace, health and contentment!

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  5. You've captured ambience perfectly, Sally. I like it....:)

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  6. What a beautiful place to linger, with good conversation, over good food. I love it.

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  7. Sally, such a beautiful place and beautiful post.....sitting here on horribly humid and hot Cape Cod this morning (I know, I should never complain about being on CC) and I felt like I was right there with you in that beautiful place!
    So happy you had that lovely day, and chose to share it with us.

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  8. I was pulled by the rhythm of your words, Sally. Enjoying the magical while on the cusp is extra-special. Also, that coffee cake looks mighty good! Windy here again today and the ever-present haze shrouds the peaks. I hate to stay indoors on a sunny day, but my eyes and nose have been swollen and stuffy from the smoke particulates. I'm hoping for some rain this week!

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  9. Lovely photos, especially your header photo. Wow! The season is changing here, too, and it's all too soon. Time to start thinking of battening the hatches for winter's arrival.

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  10. Loved this post. Weren't you fortunate that the winds came? Your misfortune turned into a blessing that you got to enjoy that delightful place all to your selves.
    Love your header.

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  11. Thanks for sharing this wonderful spot, and this wonderful day with me. I felt like I was tagging along with you. :-)

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  12. love that word CUSP, and you explorations through photos and words-thanks for sharing a lovely morning...

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  13. This is just delightful, Sally -- and all the better that it is so close to your house. What a relaxing, perfect way to start a morning! I love going out to breakfast and rarely do it. It's always a treat to be served in the morning. When you can add an environment like this to it, all the better.

    I, too, feel fall coming on. Maybe today is just a bit cool and gloomy, windy so it feels fallish and another day may be very hot and sunny. But it is a reminder to simply grab onto every single day of summer and wring the best of it we can. You certainly seem to know how to do that!

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  14. I love the wistfulness of this post, Sally -- for the last, lingering days of summer and the promises of autumn to come, each season bringing unique delights. I so enjoyed going along with you to that wonderful little restaurant and on to the Farmers Market! You conveyed such a universal sense of our clinging to the present, not wanting summer to pass, yet feeling joy at the first hint of crispness in the air as autumn approaches. Some of us seem to greet all changes this way: with wistfulness, a touch of regret and looking forward to a new season to come.

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  15. This looks like a very relaxing place to enjoy an outdoor breakfast, Sally. My husband and I are coming down to Colorado Springs in September for a couple days to sight see. I'll e-mail you, and perhaps we can meet for coffee one morning.

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  16. This was like reading a song. Beautiful. I am alway so happy that you post pictures for us. It puts me there in the story. I should really do that more often too. This place looks like my kind of place to go for a meal. I love the architecture. SO different from here.

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  17. Lovely post, Sally! A beautiful place, but also a reminder to all of us to enjoy the moment and really be aware of all that is around us.

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  18. You have a tremendous talent for taking thoughts (that seem to come and go in my mind) and penning them perfectly so that one can see and feel your surroundings.
    Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
    Hugs,
    Jackie

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  19. What a lovely place for Saturday event. Yes fall is noticable especially by the loss of daylight and the position of the sun in the sky.
    September is here and it sure came fast.

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  20. This sounds like a perfect way to end summer. Great thoughts and great photos. I can hardly wait to see you in a few weeks!

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  21. It was such a lovely day here today (in Scotland) that I can hardly believe it's nearly autumn. But it's getting dark quite early these days...

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  22. Ahhhh yes! Fall...

    I wish that just thinking about it could cool us off in Hawaii. We have been sweltering in heat and humidity ever since we returned from Pennsylvania. My daughter mentions that temperatures are cooling a little in Illinois.

    The Margarita at Pine Creek sounds like a fabulous place to visit. Some day, some day I wish we could go there.

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  23. By the way, a blogger recommended The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect. I read both and really enjoyed them. I was able to just borrow them from the library for my Kindle. It was great.

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