Tag Archives: Fall

Seasons and surprises

Posted on by
6

Ever have one of those weeks where lunch, if it happens at all, happens at 4:30 in the afternoon standing over some work you have to get done? That’s the kind of week I’m having. The busyness is all for great reasons, and I can’t complain.

However, it means I don’t have a lot of time to sit down and write this week. Still, I want to share a few seasonal happenings for which I am deeply grateful, and one seasonal surprise I’d just as soon do without. I hope you don’t mind a post mostly of pictures.

Seasonsandsurprises2015_1FT

Rain-soaked maple with leaves turning for fall

We’ve been blessed with good rains the last two Sundays and Mondays, the promise of a much-needed rainy season here. I never thought I’d get so excited about rain. Of course, I don’t always appreciate God’s sense of humor with the timing of answering my pestering prayers for rain. This past weekend, rain started to fall four and a half minutes into a half marathon I was running. Two hours of cold, wet running: fun and not fun at the same time.

I wasn’t sure if fall would be all that pretty here given the drought, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’m grateful to the previous owners of our home for planting several trees in the yard that are turning beautiful autumn shades.

I’m also grateful to whichever neighbor included this lovely mum as part of my secret “boo’d” gift for Halloween. I’m still trying to figure out the best sunny spot to plant it, hoping it will come back year after year.

Seasonsandsurprises2015_2FT

Mums and pumpkins glisten in the rain.

The rains have brought huge puddles to my running trails, and dodging them makes for a fun challenge. The dog is less picky. She runs straight through the puddles. She loves the rain, too, mostly because she likes getting toweled off when we get home.

Seasonsandsurprises2015_3FT

This puddle stuck around all last week and got refilled with the new rain earlier this week.

Seasonsandsurprises2015_4FT

A bit of fall red amid all the green trees. I like its reflection in the river.

Seasonsandsurprises2015_5FT

More puddles and fog rolling in, a battle between the wet ground and the rising sun

Now for the unpleasant surprise. No one told me there would be two (!) yellow pollen seasons here. This is how the front porch has looked for the last couple of weeks.

Seasonsandsurprises2015_6FT

There ought to be a warning that California has two yellow pollen seasons!

My supply of allergy medicine is dwindling. Guess this is a sign of happy trees, though, and so I will try not to gripe so much. It’s a nuisance more than anything, and it makes me even more grateful for the rain.

What seasonal happenings are you enjoying most these days? What surprises would you prefer hadn’t come your way? I hope the joyful bits outweigh the unpleasant ones for you.

Autumn’s beautiful signs

Posted on by
4

As I walked the dog last night, I heard a strange sound in the sky, a mix between a purr and a chirp. I looked up to see a flock of birds flying in three loose V formations. I decided to count, and the dog cooperated. She had a bit of a wait.

120 birds.

They headed south and merged into one V formation, too high, or perhaps too small, for me to tell what kind they were. Long necks, but not Canada geese with their awkward clanking. These birds’ purring chirps provided a soothing melody to accompany the clouds and a few turning leaves.

I continued the walk and, too late, thought, “Camera.” I found the flock one more time—broken apart, drifting up into the sky like bits of ash breaking apart. I would have missed the moment had I dashed in for the camera.

Change is here. The light is shifting. Fall is in its early stages, and there’s a promise in the skies.

ScenesofFall2015_1FT

The sky yesterday evening. Clouds are starting to return, and with them, the promise of rain.

ScenesofFall2015_2FT

I love the golden light of fall.

ScenesofFall2015_3FT

A fine harvest and one yellow leaf

ScenesofFall2015_4FT

A welcome sight and a contrast to the brown leaves of summer’s drought

ScenesofFall2015_5FT

The giddiness of rain-soaked red leaves.

I know my friends back east are sick of rain, and I can understand why. There’s talk of record-breaking consecutive days of rain. And the usual jokes about Noah’s ark. And now, to add insult, an approaching hurricane.

But I hope those drenched, east coast friends will forgive my giddiness here in the west, as clouds move in, as rain falls today, lightly for now but with a promise of more to come.

What promises of fall (inside or out) are you embracing these days?

Fall favorites

Posted on by
2

My favorite season begins today.

I’m not sure what a typical autumn looks like here in California, but with the extreme drought, I am sure this is no typical year. I long for the crisp days and bright colors of leaves turning on the trees. To be honest, though, I’m really praying for rain and trees that can survive after this long, hot summer.

A friend back east posted a picture on Facebook yesterday of one of my favorite trees just beginning to turn. I don’t just mean favorite kind of tree. This tree is one of my favorite individual trees. When I saw my friend’s status update, I felt joy and a pang of homesickness at the same time.

I photograph this tree every fall, and each year, I’m grateful it has stood another year. To me, this tree is grace, strength, beauty, endurance.

I photographed it last fall on a quiet, foggy morning:

Fallfavorite2014_FT

I may not get to visit it this year before the leaves are all gone, but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy the photos friends post of it as it transforms into its most glorious orange color.

Do you have a favorite tree in fall? What other signs of fall do you enjoy? Pumpkins? Hot chocolate? Sweaters? Chilly nights? Football? Would you share them below?

Whatever brings you joy this season, let me wish you a happy fall full of those things.

Fallfavorite2014_HFYFT

Flourishing Trees

Posted on by
4

I walked along the greenway with my dog, both of us banished from the house in the middle of the afternoon so strangers could walk through and decide if this would become their new home. I tried to make myself at home with my thoughts, as we crunched leaves underfoot, the dog and I.

I picked up one of the biggest leaves I’ve seen this season—a perfect fall blend of red, yellow and green—and looked up to find the towering tree that shed it. Through the canopy of smaller trees, I spied it, the old giant. I decided to take its leaf home and see if, along the way, I could find its tiniest counterparts. It became a game, and my dog relished the extra stops (more nose-to-the-ground time).

FallLeavesBigandSmall2014_FT

Fall leaves … giant and small

I’ve finally found the tree that sheds a different sort of huge leaf into my yard every year. It eluded me all these years, shedding its leaves before the shorter, smaller trees shed theirs and therefore making it impossible for me to know which tree dropped the large, brown leaves. The tree lives in a neighbor’s yard and freely shares its leaves with us all.

Frost said, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” and this tree is one of those somethings, caring not one whit for fences or boundary lines or yards that have been freshly raked.

You may not think of trees shedding their leaves this time of year as flourishing trees, but that’s exactly what they are. They’ve learned that to survive the cold and dark of winter, they cannot fight nature. So they shed what they don’t need for a season.

One by one, with a gentle letting go, they drop away burdens they no longer need to hold, should no longer cling to if they want to flourish in the year ahead.

Ah, to be as wise as these trees—beautiful and trusting—as they let go of what is no longer their own. As they prepare for winter, they are also preparing for the coming spring.

Dear God: Please help me be more like these flourishing trees in their season of change. Amen.

I fling up this prayer in hopes of laying down some worries and fears of the season ahead for me … so that after the winter, I will be flourishing, too.

Is there something you’re holding on to that you could let slip gently away? A concern or burden that is no longer yours to carry? Will you let these things drop away from you like so many fall leaves?

FallLeaves2014_FT

An especially flourishing tree that has covered my recently clean driveway with a golden leaf pile

Drop me a line in the comments below to let me know if you’re able to let go of any worries troubling you. And drop by next week, when I hope to share an exciting announcement about a different sort of flourishing tree.

 

Falling leaves and felling trees

Posted on by
8

As you probably know by now (especially if you saw yesterday’s post), I’m excited about the start of Autumn. So, let me wish you a very happy season! (And for those of you reading from the other side of the equator, happy spring!)

I love this time of year when cooler weather returns. Where I live, cooler weather has come along with cold, steady rain. I won’t complain, but after a few dreary days in a row, I’m looking forward to a clear weekend that includes sunshine without the heat of summer tagging along.

Falling leaves
The only leaves that have fallen so far dried in the late summer heat. Most leaves are still green, although I’ve noticed a few with just a hint of red to them. Giddiness! That tinge of red makes me giddy.

What makes me a little less giddy is the knowledge of the coming onslaught of falling leaves. We have lots of trees in our yard, and while I wouldn’t trade them for anything, that means lots of raking soon. And with our house on the market, my husband and I will have to tackle that chore more often to keep the yard looking tidy and inviting. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a yard without so many trees and therefore so many leaves to clear in the fall.

Felling trees
I’m grateful that our home’s builder decided to leave so many trees in our yard. So many developers in our area clear out beautiful old growth trees to make construction easier. It strikes me as a lack of imagination or vision to clear everything away.

Near my neighborhood, a developer has just begun clearing land. Whether the final result will be new homes or offices, I don’t know. What I do know is that the usual peace has been drowned with constant machinery chewing up a forest of trees.

Fellingtrees2014_FT2

Where there were trees …

Now there is mud and debris where once so many trees grew, an ugly scar where there was once so much natural beauty. I’m sad to see them all go, and I feel bad for the neighbors whose houses back up to this property, especially those who didn’t realize this development was coming soon to their backyard.

Fellingtrees2014_FT3

Small tree protection areas such as this one make me cringe.

I’m relieved to see a few spindly trees with the orange protection fence around them. Even those may not survive, given the small area protected and the heavy machinery that can damage the trees’ roots growing outside of the protected zone, but at least there’s some attempt to save a few of the trees.

Maybe the developer plans to plant new trees once the buildings are done, and maybe someday this space can be beautiful again. It may be years, though, before this space experiences a beautiful Autumn again.

Without trees, could Fall be as beautiful? I don’t think so. A pumpkin spice latte and a burgundy scarf are fun, but nothing can trump (for me anyway) nature’s color palette this time of year.

Aside from the trees and the aforementioned latte and scarf, I love the crisp feel of the air, the clear sky, football, happier morning runs, the pumpkin patches and kids searching for the perfect jack-o-lantern pumpkin, pie, apples, Halloween, …

So what do you love most about Autumn? I know it’s not everyone’s favorite season, but there must be something for everyone to love about this time of year. So let’s hear it. What makes you giddy about this new season?

P.S. I learned something new today and wanted to be sure to share it with you. Google keeps an archive of its doodles. So if you missed one (like yesterday’s) that everyone at the office was talking about, you can browse through them to your heart’s content. The archive also provides a great way to see what the rest of the world is celebrating.