I love the fall.  It is probably my favorite time of year for several reasons.  You have the changing colors of the deciduous tree leaves. The shorter darker days filled with rain and fog, which make those really soft blankets and hot beverages on the porch even more enjoyable.  Fall is also the beginning of the holiday season, which I love. It is the start of my attitude of “if you are offended by my observance of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas…go tell your mama because no one else gives a crap!”.  Hey, I’ll admit it.  I will use any excuse to throw a party even if I have no idea what the celebration is about!  Kwanzaa? As-salamu alaykum, too!  Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Hanukkah? Well, Shabbat Shalom!  Midwinter, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas/Lughnasadh, Mabon, or Samhain?  Let’s dance around some fires, yo!  It really takes a lot to offend me and I don’t care what the “original” intent of the gathering is for, I just want to get together with cool folks and have a good time.  Fall really is the best time of year for that.  This year the fall is particularly filled with fun because I am finally getting to do something I have always wanted to do, blacksmithing.  And what goes better with rain and fog than a hot fire?

Anyone who has read more than one of my blogs has read about my fascination with blacksmithing.  I find it both therapeutic and invigorating.  This weekend, I get to go to a beginning blacksmithing class with my oldest son Isaac, and my “brother from another mother” Waterboard.  I am super excited about it because I will finally be able to talk to other blacksmiths about things which have been giving me headaches (cough*forge weld*cough), I will get to hang out with my boy who is now out living his own life, and I get to hang with one of my bro’s, all while beating the crap out of an unsuspecting piece of metal or two.  One of the things that I have noticed, since taking up blacksmithing, is that there are a lot of people out there who find it interesting and want to get more involved but lack a place to do it. I have been mulling over the idea of trying to generate some community involvement around the whole blacksmithing thing, but I’m not really sure how I am going to do it yet.  I really enjoy the more renaissance’y feeling of going out to a burning fire and making a useful tool with my own two hands. Another reason I like being a blacksmith (if I can call myself that at this point) is that, on these cool rainy fall days, I can go out to the shop, fire up the forge, drink a hot beverage, and just make stuff. Man, I just really love fall! Another of my favorite fall activities is hitting up the local farms who run “pumpkin patch” styled events.

When I lived down in Junction City, there was a farm just down the road called Lone Pine Farms where there is all kinds of stuff going on in October.  I used to take my kids over there to get pumpkins, pet the animals, drink apple cider, eat caramel apples, check out the “corn maze”, and mingle with the other holiday observers.  It is the memory I often reflect on when I hit this time of year. Going to those events aren’t super exciting if you just look at the activities they have for you to do, but the excitement is in the air.  There is this great feeling of community closeness and a kind of suspenseful joy that only comes with those kinds of gatherings. It’s one of the things that makes me miss having all of my kids at the age where they still want to go do those things with their old man.  Alas, time moves on and I have to be happy with my memories (which is why I do my best to create lots of good ones) of my kids’ childhood. I apologize.  I can’t think of a good segway into my closing statement so…just keep reading.

I know that I am lacking any kind of visual media on here, but I plan to change that soon.  I have upgraded the subscription I have to the web service I use for this blog, so now I can post videos of my misadventures.  I know many of you will enjoy watching me screw up and I might even get a few helpful tips from people who watch the many ways I can mess up hitting an anvil or extracting honey.  At any rate, views, likes, and comments let me know more about what the viewers enjoy seeing and what topics they find most interesting.  Trust me when I tell you that I can talk for hours about almost any subject…did I mention my friends tell me I’m long winded?  Anyway, I hope all of you go out and enjoy the festivities of whatever holiday you are celebrating.  Don’t be afraid to celebrate with your friends who believe differently than you.  You don’t have to be a practitioner of a particular faith to have a good time with good people.  Go forth and be awesome!