Fall starts here in the States on Saturday, and I can’t wait! I had a brief conversation with a friend of a friend this past weekend, and he was bemoaning the end of summer. He’s a teacher, and so that might explain part of it, but he’s cold-natured, too, and so that’s another reason he prefers summer to fall. He couldn’t quite understand why I was so giddy about the upcoming season of crunching leaves, pumpkins, hot cider, sweater-and-jeans weather and the smell of evening fires.
Now I know not all of you reading this are heading into autumn (I’m thinking of my Aussie and Kiwi friends particularly who are bidding winter goodbye), but I expect there are beautiful changes in nature poised to happen wherever you live.
This week, the comic strip Mutts is paying tribute to the joys of autumn. I especially love the quote from yesterday’s strip: “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” (Albert Camus)
Every leaf a flower
Camus’ words capture well just one aspect of the season that makes me love fall so well. There is beauty all around, and it is beauty in fiery reds and oranges and burgundies and golds, contrasted against a clearer, bluer sky of cooler weather that has chased away summer’s haze.
I think George Eliot captures my sentiments most accurately: “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
Delicious autumn!
Autumn is delicious to me – a feast for all five of my senses.
Watch the leaves turn
The advice in today’s Mutts strip is also well worth heeding: “Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.” (Elizabeth Lawrence)
I hope that, whether you’re mourning the end of another summer or gleefully loading up on pumpkin goodies at your local coffee shop, you’ll take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. I’ll be out there, too, drinking it all in.
Whether autumn is your favorite season or not, what part of it do you enjoy best? I invite you to share your favorites: trees, colors, activities, smells, tastes, sounds and even memories of autumn.
What will your reflections be this autumn?
The Flourishing Tree 
The pictures are beautiful. Someday we will come up to see leaves. 🙂
I hope so! They’re worth seeing.
Thanks for these beautiful photos and great quotes! I love autumn, too. Seems like the new year should be September 1.
Tracey — Funny you should say that. I often feel like September is the start of the year, probably because I grew up as a professor’s daughter and my own life in academia (and its insistent calendar) as a student and then a teacher and then a student/teacher all over again lasted longer than most people’s academic experiences. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and quotes. The photos were from 2010, and I’m hoping for another beautiful season of photography this year, too.
For me, Autumn is best experienced as a race on a cool, dry, sunny October morning. Changing leaves, freedom from humidity’s stifling grasp, steam rising from runners after the finish line, maybe even some post race cider: it all creates a special time of year. One of the most autumnal races that I have done features decorated pumpkins as the overall and age group awards.
Like Tricia, as a child of South Florida, I had to move up north to experience all of this.
Ah, “freedom from humidity’s stifling grasp” — yes, that’s one of my favorite parts of the season. I’ve just started noticing the steam off a runners effect in the last few days, and it makes me giddy about the promise of cooler weather. Plus, when I can see steam rising off of me, I feel like I’m actually accomplishing something.
As a South Florida child, I never truly experienced autumn until I went away to college at Wake Forest. The breathtaking blue skies with the incredible orange, red and yellow hued trees in the foreground were just amazing. My favorite season as well. Absolutely love it!
Thanks, Tricia — do you remember how you felt that first autumn of college (besides just cold)? My dad was a South Florida child, too, and always raved about the beautiful sunsets there but also talked about how cold he was when he went away to college (in the northern part of Florida, no less). I’m glad he moved farther north so I could experience so many fall seasons.
Hope, I felt exhilarated and my spirit just soared as I soaked in God’s incredible fall beauty. I had literally never seen it before. I love getting sick of the summer heat and fall creeping up and then getting tired of the winter cold and spring appearing. Seasons are a wonderful thing!