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
Labels:

Comments

  1. Wildlife Art by SylSeptember 25, 2015 at 4:15 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Missy ASeptember 25, 2015 at 4:32 PM

      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. sewsavySeptember 26, 2015 at 6:16 AM

    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. Missy ASeptember 26, 2015 at 9:06 AM

      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

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 ...
8 comments
Read more

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 ...
6 comments
Read more

road tripping: french glen and steens mountain

we took a stinkin' lot of dirt roads, but i wouldn't have it any other way The drive wasn’t long by west coast standards, a mere few of hours; which meant there was plenty of leisure (interpreted coffee time) before leaving on another road trip escapade.  I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it is to pack a bag, gas up the car and set out to see what can be seen. An interesting thing I’ve discovered on these exploits, is that having lived in Oregon for the majority of my life, I’ve missed “seeing” a lot of things. You know, I think we all get into the habit of going to the same places, which is a good thing, but we forget about the “other” places that are right in our own backyards. Case in point, yesterday afternoon, when my darling man and I went to Tumalo Falls. I’ve been to Skyliner Snow Park, but never gone the few more dirt road miles to see the falls. Holy cow! Is that lame, or what? a sweet little place, no frills, but plenty of yesteryear ...
8 comments
Read more