Have you ever noticed that we describe the colors of autumn with culinary flavors - especially spices.  At least I do.  As I gaze out at the prairie that surrounds my house, its earth tones seem to fit the spices and flavors of the season: cinnamon, honey, wheat, pumpkin, ginger, nutmeg, paprika, chocolate, mocha and coffee.  These spicy words are certainly more vivid than a simple red, yellow, orange or brown to describe the changing colors of the landscape.  

Harvest is a rich, sensual experience that pleasures all our senses:

• Vision - colors of the trees like a Las Vegas extravaganza of colors with each specie competing to outdo and out-show the others
• Hearing - the rattle of crisp leaves in the trees, the crunch and swoosh of leaves as we tread on them reducing them to dust and mulch
• Touch - the textures of seed pods from smooth pecans and flowing grass wands to jagged pinecones and gnarly walnuts
• Smell - the crisp, brisk air of autumn - a cleansing coolness for our lungs; the scent of a wood fire and piñon in chimineas; the warm aroma of harvest treats fresh from the oven - apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies
• Taste -  the rich flavors of the harvest that linger on our tongues - cinnamon apples, tart cranberries and sweet, pungent pumpkins

May we each enjoy the sensory and sensual feast of the harvest season.

The true harvest of my life is intangible, a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched. ~ Henry David Thoreau