The Telling Trees
The vibrant greens are colour tinged,
the evening air grows cool
and early mornings start again
with children back in school.
As summertime draws to a close
for harvest we prepare -
eyes turn toward the telling trees -
such varied hues they wear!
Adorned in shades of gold and red
their limbs gracefully sway
in tempo with the autumn breeze
that shakes some leaves away.
They rain down gently on the ground
to rustle 'neath our feet
as pumpkins are baked into pies
then carved for "Trick or Treat".
That's when the chill in earnest comes,
as branches are stripped bare,
soon to be garbed in robes of white
when snowflakes glisten there.
Sharon Flood Kasenberg - Sept. 19, 2009
Today on my way to get a much needed haircut I noticed something I needed even more than a decent trim. The autumn leaves are spectacular - I've been vowing to get out and snap some pictures of my sleepy little town all dressed for fall - and I knew the day had come. I suddenly and absolutely craved a walk with my camera to capture this season before the brisk winds could blow all of those splendid colours off the trees to land at my feet.
It was a walk that reminded me why I love October. It was shirtsleeve weather - not too hot and not too cool. The sky was a moody blue-grey that taunted me, saying, "I could go either way today. Maybe I'll let the sun shine through those clouds, and maybe I won't..." I like the mercurial skies of autumn, perhaps because I'm less invested in either sunshine or rain at this point in the year. I'm not spending significant time doing outdoor chores now - so let it do what it will! Maybe - just maybe - I'm mellowing enough to accept that I can't control anyone or anything around me, and that real satisfaction in life comes from just moving through the world with appreciation for whatever I happen to see. I can adapt to whatever the sky gives me.
The leaves were fabulous against that sky - although I'm not sure my camera captured it all the way my eyes saw it. There could be richer hues down the road - if the wind doesn't blow too hard over the next week or two, but I liked seeing a little green in the mix - the progression of tones - greens, yellows, golds, oranges and reds - all a gentle reminder of the summer that just passed and the fact that winter is around the corner.
I love living in a part of the world where there are four distinct seasons - and the fact that winter is coming doesn't bother me in the least. Part of the reason I love the fall is because it awakens happy anticipation in me - there are holidays ahead! Later today I'll put up a few Halloween decorations, and a few weeks from now we'll start putting up Christmas lights! (You can say I'm rushing the season, but hanging the lights soon is just being pragmatic. There could be early snow. And my tree(s) won't go up until December 1st.)
This will be my first Halloween and my first Christmas in my new/old house, and yes, I'll confess that I've been pondering how to dress this place up for holidays since we first walked through the doors with our realtor! Fall reminds me that there are always things worth celebrating, even when nights get longer and darker and the atmosphere around you grows chillier than you've been used to.
I'm still in the early pages of a new chapter in life. There are a lot of firsts in front of me. On Friday I'm off to a "Ladies Night" put on by a local service club. I don't know what to expect, but I'm sure grateful that a neighbour thought to stop by and invite me. It's an opportunity to get to know more neighbours and perhaps develop friendships. Fall reminds me that just as green leaves change and eventually die, new leaves will grow in the spring. Life is full of beginnings and endings - and while some of my friendships won't be able to withstand my changes in circumstance, there are new friends waiting to be made, and plenty of new experiences to be had as I embark on this new, more bucolic phase of life.
The trees are telling me that aging is okay, that adaption is worth striving for. Everything has its time and season. Winds can wail or whisper and skies can be bright or dark, but the trees tell the real story. They'll stand tall regardless of the sky, and in the wind they'll bow more often than they'll break.
And through every season those trees will remind me that change is a vital part of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment