Skip to main content

crinkling and peeling, autumn

specks of vine maple

autumn:    a period of maturity verging on decline
(the free dictionary.com)

It arrived this week.


Yep, fall officially debuted on my calendar, with its cooler nights and warm days, bushes screaming for attention while the leaves are in the throes of death, to quote my husband.

I love autumn; crunching leaves with my feet like a little kid and eating bowls of soup that have been ignored while the weather was scorching.  I like to slip a fuzzy scarf on with my t-shirt, since the temps are in between…and did I mention the leaves?  Yeah, I kinda did.  Big, small, gold, burnt umber, okra and coffee colors; some crinkling and others still pliable, at least for now.

crinkling

Walking in my neighborhood is like a kaleidoscope, ever changing as you turn the lens.  The same occurred on a long - over 200 mile - drive about last weekend.  Every corner of the long and winding road (sounds like a Beatles song) tossed colors refracting in the pale light of the day.  What is my strange fascination with the withering, a distinct beauty in what was and soon will no longer exist?

underneath the surface
woodland chimes tinkle in the wind, softly glowing in the sun sitting low on the horizon
candlelight colored, broken edged leaves hang from twig chains dripping from chalky pillars rooted in black, rich earth
overlaid spider-veined, peeling bark shyly reveals hidden dark inner birch

Do I see decay or exquisiteness?

  Missy


If you have been mildly amused, challenged or inspired by what you have read, please pass on my blog to a friend, colleague, family member or even random acquaintance

Comments

  1. Fall is my favorite time of year..maybe you inherited it...haha Love Mom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe...are all of your aspen trees turning brilliant yellow? I love the sound they make when the wind blows, which it does a lot here in Central Oregon. I'd forgotten about that.

      Delete
  2. Oddly, autumn is my favorite time of the year. Does anyone really love summer? The leaves come down to warm the roots of the trees for the winter like a blanket. I don't rake till spring. I too love the crinkly, crunchy sounds of the leaves and the wind blowing. I am so ready to be indoors each day and cozy up. ;) Hope you are doing well in your new location.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are doing really well. I do love summer and being outside, but fall is my very favorite. In fact we are out enjoying it some more this weekend - the Fruit Loop - near Hood River. Have you done that little day trip?

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good morning, lab rats!

One of my favorite movies is “A Good Year,” starring Russell Crowe.  It’s a fun little romp through the South of France, filled with wine, romance and very poignant moments of clarity. Max, is a driven, pompous business man who is willing to use, abuse and finagle his way to the top, and then gloat.  He is never satisfied with his accomplishments.  "Good morning, lab rats,” indicates his ‘tude. Fanny, on the other hand, is a bicycle wielding, passionate woman.  She is suspicious, short-tempered and very jealous, yet content with her way of life; minding the business of others. The storyline is obvious:  opposites attract, love blooms and then blows up.  Reflecting on the vast difference in their existences, this dialogue is uttered: Max:   This place does not suit my life. Fanny:  No Max, it’s your life that does not suit this place. Makes me wonder how many times I have said no to things because it didn’t fit into my prec...

urban girl in the country

green in concrete For the last lot-of-years I’ve lived in urban areas.  I’ve become a city girl with hints of a flower child mixed with hipster nuances…translated I like to wear skinny jeans.  This is the total opposite of how I grew up, which was on a farm.  My paternal grandparents grew, raised, caught and hunted for everything they ate – radical organic, free-range stuff.  On my Mom’s side of the fam tree, there were green grocers and orchard growers.  Heck, I was in 4-H raising feeder calves and a small flock of wooly sheep.  Gardens, canning, freezing and preserving everything was the ordinary. I carried on the gardening-preserving, saving the spoils piece, until I found myself in fresh veggie-at-a-farmer’s-market heaven!  The foreign city I found myself in had a temperate climate where fruit and vegetables could be grown year ‘round, and … it was sold at a giant open air market every week.  Yippee!  I no longer needed to ...

wishing flower, vulnerable and beautiful

do you see a weed or a wish? Let’s just say, I’m not an early morning girl.  Those who know me appreciate this and quietly leave me alone until I’ve had a chance to emerge from my pre-coffee zombie state.  However, there is a bird glee club that begins at about 3:30, yes in the morning.  It’s lovely and melodic; leaving me no choice but to listen.  Translated, this means I’ve been up before my norm.  The youthful hours are warm, but fresh; they beg for a walk, and so does Isabella. Yesterday was a little cooler so our pace was speedy, at least for my little legs.  We passed cars and bushes and bugs zipping around … and the rejected weed. pulled up by its roots discarded wishing flower tossed aside left at the edge of the sidewalk the sun beat down life ebbing from the slender stalk, leaves drying, privately curling desperate to hold onto being funny , how I noticed the thrown-away on a morning walk my thought to stop and ...