The porch changes seasons

The leaves are still snug in their trees but we took the screened porch down this weekend. Had to. Already, we’ve had several snowfalls that cast a chill across the prairie. We had to work fast in between cold snaps. Fast, however, is not a natural state when you are our age. So we took two days.

Putting the porch up and taking it down – one of our fun rituals. It is how we mark the changing of seasons. Our own personal metaphor for the beginning of spring or the colors of autumn. Both seasons, beautiful.

When the screens are gone, the porch feels naked at first. We fix that by stoking a fire in the little chimenea, pulling up our hoodies, and sitting around a bottle of wine. It helps the sun go down. The neighbors understand. They are busy putting up storm windows.

And the squirrels don’t seem to give a damn.