Peaceful Fall

I sit down in the springy metal chair on the porch. The day is peaceful and still. I closed my eyes against the bright sunshine and feel it warm on the left side of my face. The cement porch is nice and cool under my bare feet. It seems perfectly quiet as I rock.

I hear the wind rustling the tops of trees, sounding like Mammy’s red petticoat in Gone With The Wind, encircling me from left to right like the wave in a stadium. The chirping of a lone cricket calls to me from the woods. As I concentrate on the song he is singing it is as if my ears come in to focus and I hear the cacophony of nature. More crickets and a chorus of ribbitting frogs join in. A cardinal sings whoit-whoit-whoit from his roost. There's a constant high pitched twee-twee from the beautiful yellow finches in the trees and an occasional blue jay squawking kee-kee.

The leaves are just barely beginning to dress in their autumn splendor; peeks of yellow are showing through the shady woods. On the periphery of the woods the sumac are already ablaze in fiery red. There are patches of white wood aster wildflowers growing rampantly. Less easy to see from my perch on the porch is the Kentucky State Flower, the lowly goldenrod, and small yellow sunflowers with their faces turned to be kissed by the sun.



I love our land. We have a beautiful, peaceful setting with a big yard and trees that hide the neighboring homes until they drop all their foliage and their naked branches reach up to the winter sky. To the side of our home, and in the back we have woods where deer roam in the dusk and dawn. We have a trail wide enough for the golf cart to wind through the woods and along the fence line of the bordering farm. In the past, we have turned it into a haunted trail for Halloween with skeletons, ghosts, goblins and dead man’s gulch.

view from the fence line

views of the backyard and trail

along the driveway

Cooper sees something

Our land is beautiful in the winter and summer. And, when everything is coming to life and I am surrounded by that “new” green that seems to be reserved for the birth of springtime I am awash anew with the wonder of God’s creation and my joy that I live smack dab in the middle of it.

But, my favorite time of year is right now, the fall. I love everything about it. I love the morning chill that greets me as I wake up. The days as they grow cooler; sweater-weather / football-weather. After the long, hot summer, I cannot wait for the first morning when I can see my breath in puffs as I warm the car. I love the way God pours out his autumn paints to drip down the trees. I find great beauty in the falling, drifting leaves; the way they entwine in a type of choreographed, spinning waltz in front of me as I drive down the road. It makes me happy to have the crackle and crunch of dried leaves under my feet as I walk. The smell of bonfires and burning leaves gives me little shivers of delight. I even love the days as they grow shorter and the nights longer.

Welcome fall!

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
- George Cooper, October's Party