Gratitude Spiral: Day 301

Today, I’m grateful for the first full day of autumn, 2020. I know it started yesterday, mid-morning, but today is autumn all day. 🙂

In spite of the ongoing pandemic and the virtual shutdown of normal life, the year 2020 marches on. It’s hard to believe that summer is over. But, then again, we’ve had a couple of frosty mornings here in New England recently, so it’s not that hard. The cool weather is a nice change and the colors of fall are creeping in. So, I guess it’s best to enjoy this natural art show while we can, before winter blows in. 🙂

What are you grateful for today?

Autumn In New England . . .

A season of mixed messages . . .

 

Come, My Spirit

Come, my spirit,
we’ve been to dark places that seem to be the end.

Come, see the red-gold flutter of trees
against a blue enamel sky.

Come, hear the solid thunk-thunk of a woodpecker
searching; the crispy crunch of leaves shed
like so much dead skin.

Come, smell the spice of just cut grass.

Come, feel the cool breeze that sends
a quiver of living across your cheek.

Photo Project: Summer Into Fall…

It’s been a while since my last installment of this Photo Project. Life got busy and the trees, well, they stayed green all summer!

The scene outside my window didn’t change much, but I think some of the settings on my camera may have been altered. (Oops!) I went on vacation, probably tweaked some settings and then couldn’t remember the original ones. As a result, the color differences in the August and September photos above may be technical and not physical. Oh, well! Live and learn.

In October, I dare say that the subtle foliage changes were a bit disappointing. The maple tree on the left side of this view usually explodes in a brilliant red every autumn. But I don’t think it ever fully recovered from that worm attack in the spring.

Its ragged leaves managed a rusty red, while the trees just to the right of my chosen view showed off their own magic!

But, back to the scene I chose to observe…

From mid-October until the last week of the month, the colors morphed. (Pardon my lens hood crowding the corners!)

Then, on October 29th, it happened: FALL!!!

As the calendar turned to November, the wind took more and more leaves down, stripping most of the trees bare.

The end of the year brings with it the promise of trees covered in snow and ice. I’ll keep shooting and wrap up this project in January 2016, bringing it full circle from the blizzard of January 27, 2015 seen in my first Photo Project entry.

In the meantime, I’ve got some leaves to rake…

 

The Foliage Is Always Redder . . .

Autumn is a season of change. The daylight hours shorten, the nights become cooler, and school is back in session. Actually, for the first time since 1989, no one in my own household headed back to school this September. That in itself signifies change. But here in New England, beautiful foliage displays are the most celebrated change of all.

Several years ago, on an October drive to visit one of my daughters attending a Vermont college, I was blown away by the brilliance of color. Wave after wave of reds, oranges, and yellows bloomed before me as I drove the hills and curves of Interstate Routes 93 and 89. Ever since that drive, I’ve wanted to take a leaf-peeping adventure every year. And living just 30 minutes south of the New Hampshire border, you’d think I’d have done it every year. But no. Fall is a busy time of year and weekends are precious. Last year, my husband and I planned ahead to combine a foliage trip with an Alchemist Brewery truck sale. Guess what! It rained. Hard. Of course, we got the beer, but the sightseeing was a bust!

This year, every weekend seems to be booked. Life, as usual, has gotten busy. But I’ve been thinking. The old saying that “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” could be tweaked to say: “the foliage is always redder, oranger (I know, not really a word), and yellower on the other side of the border.” It’s all about perspective. We really don’t need to climb the fence or cross the border to find the vibrancy. We just need to change our thinking and open our eyes. So, I did.

And here’s some of what I found less than a mile from home…

And also less than a mile from home is a soccer field at which I spent many an autumn as a busy, distracted soccer mom. I hardly ever stopped to appreciate the view. This year, I decided to track the changing colors. The first photo was taken on September 21st. The last one was taken this morning. Enjoy!

Sept 21

Sept 25

Oct 5

Oct 7

Oct 12

Oct 14