Fall 2021

When the leaves on a tree dance in the summer wind, we are grateful for a warm gust of air. Those same leaves will wrestle free on a fall day,  coating the grass and ground and adding yet another chore to our winter prep.

We relish the shades of fall, grateful for the reprieve from the humid weather and equally so from the frigidness of winter to come.

With a short spell to enjoy the foliage, the splash of colour never disappoints. Whether strolling through a familiar neighborhood, hiking on an empty trail, or stopping to listen to the soft rush of air flowing through a tree, we savour this time.

We return to the Long Island Locks for a walk. The landscape was predominantly green but with plenty of dashes of colour.

A solitary tree has started shedding.  I rummage through some red fragments, scattered, torn, and trod upon. Once, all those broken leaves were perfect, attached by their stem to a glorious branch.  They now lie abandoned until a gust of wind sends them elsewhere or end up buried in the snow.  I choose a few intact ones to bring home.

I pause on the bridge overlooking the cut stone dam. It’s quite an impressive piece of workmanship, reminding me of a brick-walled lighthouse. On the side opposite, the water drifts with perfect rhythm in the river beneath. I need one more photo and reach inside my pocket for my cellphone, depositing my pair of leaves on the pavement behind the rails.

Once still as wood, the air picks up and sends one leaf tumbling down. It lands featherlike and lays still in the water, then floats among the lily pads before joining the current. It was a perfect leaf, and as I watch it travel away, I question whether I actually needed that picture.

**************

With increasingly less daylight, the autumn foliage is now accelerating. My rubber soles no longer hit the pavement softly, where trees once overhung in full summer green. The shedding has begun, covering our path with the crunch underfoot like paper being torn. I walk with intent to produce that same crushing sound over again. Frivolous, perhaps, but when else can we hear that crisp sound?

Save for a few yellow leaves littering our driveway, our maple tree is still green. Like every year, the loss of these leaves occurs late. It is a slow and painful process, with the last leaf often falling during the first snowfall. After several raking sessions, we finally let the snow blanket the remaining ones until the spring.

I won’t think about the raking just yet. Nor will I brace myself for how many bags will be dragged to the curb. We still have a few weeks left before that.

Instead, I’ll immerse myself in the stunning jewels that grace our corner of the world. Such beauty, passing quickly but cherished, always.