I love a quote I recently read about children that I also think applies to life. "The days are long, but the years are short." This summarizes my perception of the seasons also. The days are long, the seasons seem to rush by, and the years are very short. They even seem to be running together.

This year I am going to meet this season head on! Autumn color, Halloween, and Thanksgiving influence the way I plant and decorate my yard. This is clean-up time in the garden; perennials and some spent vegetable plants need to be pulled. I like to dig my onions, potatoes and garlic now. I sometime sow an extra packet of lettuce, hoping for one last crop before the frost. I savor every plant that shows a flower one more time.

Luckily there are a few plants that thrive in our Central Indiana hardiness Zone 6a (-10 to -5 degrees F). These are our average low temperatures where plants will not be killed. Mums, asters, kale and cabbages are some plants that beg to be added to the landscape and pots in the fall. Many perennials, such as purple coneflower, Black-Eyed Susans and butterfly bushes, will bloom until a hard freeze as long as you deadhead them (that means to cut off the old blossoms). Grasses will also perform well. They have set their spikelets often looking like feathers or statuesque fans on the horizon.

This is the time of year that the birds love the seeds from the garden and field flowers and shrubs. Harvest time is not only for farmers, but all the wildlife are getting ready for the turn of fall into winter. Acorns and other nuts are the feast of squirrels and chipmunks. Seeds from zinnias, coneflowers, and Black-Eyed Susans attract the finches. Butterflies will visit the remaining blossoms. If you have fruit trees in your backyard, you will see half eaten remains of apples, plums, pears, and grapes where opossums or raccoons dined. The squirrels will eventually eat the pumpkins and enjoying every seed they find. The corn shocks I put around the yard will be stripped of the ears of corn during the season. They don't seem as interested in the Indiana corn I put on my door.

Although nature is providing goodies, I load my cleaned and mended feeders with seed and suet at this time. This is the time of the year wildlife are establishing their winter feeding habitats and I want a good view of my backyard critters when the snow is on the ground. I don't forget my birdbaths or pond. I usually have to locate my bird bath heater because it has found its way to the back of the garage. I like to set up, but not turn on, my heaters while the weather is still enjoyable. An interesting fact is that by adding water to your yard, a birdbath, pond or fountain, you can attract more different kinds of species than just those birds that go to feeders. Not all birds eat seeds, but all birds need water.

Celebrate autumn. Decorate your yard! Feed the birds and critters. Enjoy nature for the season passes quickly and soon the long winter months will be upon us. This is the time for thanksgiving. The wildlife seems thankful for the bounty of the autumn and I take extra time to be thankful and count my blessings. It is the seasonal times of years that amplify our activities and thoughts. Thanksgiving Day reminds us all to stop and be thankful. This season make memories of vibrant colors, crunching leaves, eating wonderful food, holidays, darker and cooler days, and reason for gratitude for the ebb and flow of nature.