Perfection In Time

Everyone is deserving, at some time in their life, preferably when the work filled day has ended and a weary peace is settling on their shoulders, the one perfect leaf, a gift from heaven, floating down to their feet and resting still and poised as if waiting to be noticed, to be selected and saved and savored; one still and well-shaped leaf that also is at days end in its chores and is molded as if by clay into a perfect frame of a dance move with crisp swirls and fine-tuned edges and perfect patterns left over from some autumn song.  This leaf above was found a year ago and sits in a jar on a dresser that stands against the wall at the foot of my bed.  This leaf lies patiently waiting for me on certain days to pick it up and twirl it in my fingers as if the dance is not over.

Jewel Tones

The jewels tumbling
spill to the ground,
throw away their glow
of amber and ruby and tourmaline
and become skeletons
fading to chalk and ash
the way all living things do.

Scattered pure reflections
as from a prism
that hung at the sun's circumference
and now lie broken
spilling the bit of imperfect light
that remains
across the earth's floor.

When the cold descends
they crunch like the crackle
of a warm fire
as they give up the last
of their beauty
and remind us of
the swift passage of time.

Reminding us that
our greatest challenges
lie ahead
calling us to hold strong
with dignity and grace
as our own glow fades
and only memories
are left to warm others
when the cold descends.

Cherry On the Top

Years ago, when I first moved into this house, I was impressed with the fall colors that appear in my woods.  The tulip poplar trees are the first to change, dressing their leaves in deep yellow.  This is followed by the red-buds which also turned a golden hue.  Then the dogwoods blush in a deep blood red.  The oaks compete with their rust red colors which glow when the sun hits them in the late afternoon.  In various corners the sassafras burns bright red almost painful to the eyes.  The native maple trees are arbitrary in their color change depending on rain and temperature, some autumns they start outlines of red and then fall to the ground and darken to red-brown, while on optimal autumns they become the reddest of the reds putting all the other trees and shrubs to shame.  The hollies and cedars and the slash pines stand in the chorus line and continue their rich backdrops of forest green in this autumnal painting. 

Yet, despite the inconvenient truth of global warming, I was not totally satisfied with this group of show-offs and wanted a sugar maple to add that peach red color that is not found in any of my native trees.  Three years ago, in the fall, I paid $60.00 and planted a 6 foot high twig of a sugar maple that appears to be grafted onto another type of root maple.  This year she has taken the diva role.

At first she was a little shy and just blushed, because she is so small and the fig in front of her is such a big bully of a robust tree.

 

But just like any happy four-year-old, once she gets her prettiest dress on, she is ready to take center stage.

And when the sun tickles her directly, it makes her laugh out loud and forget her lines.  Unfortunately, this week, the nasty wind is tearing most of the ribbons from her hair and it is getting time to take the final bow for this performance.

Hello, Hello.

I went down to the dock to say goodbye to October...but then realized it was November first and November was saying HELLO! (Resolution changed to protect the photographer...)

Next few days I will post the lovely scenery on the farm were I went for a fundraising activity.