Autumn Stand

At dusk, I picked all the pears that I could reach.
Last night, the first hard frost.
Today, the air is crisp, the sky cool blue, paled by wispy clouds.

Yesterday, white, blue, and steel grey swirled,
animating the sky, hurrying, destination uncertain.

From across the valley, lumpy snow squalled from the mix,
sifting through cloud gaps like a sheer curtain
eased through an open kitchen window
by a bland summer breeze.

And I remember Eli telling me that an old timer told him:
“In these parts, you have to have as much as you need done for winter by mid-October
…after then, anything can happen “