autumn: my bittersweet love story

autumn

the sights

the sounds

the smells

my senses are heightened

and in tune with this season we call autumn

the leaves grow more brilliant with every day

colours that dazzle in splendour

God is showing off once again,

in the way that only God can

Creator knowing his creation

and changing it with the seasons

which flow one after another after another

just like our lives

autumn winter spring summer

autumn

this season where we oooo and ahhh over the beauty

where one day the leaves are rustling in all their colour

and the next day the wind whips them off

and they fly in the wind

spinning circles in the wind current

circling up and then down

accumulating in a pool of leaves

different sizes

different colours

but all together

i love the sound of autumn

the sound of the leaves rustling

and the sound of the leaves crunching once they have fallen

the sound of laughter coming from children playing in heaps upon heaps of leaves

raked up

piled

jumped in

thrown

and repeat

autumn joy

bliss

delight

the sound of bullrushes dry and swaying in the wind

and dried corn stalks keeping time in its field

i love the sound of the blue jays at the feeder

or the woodpecker that makes the tin pecking noise

 (doesn't he know the feeder is not a tree)

i love the sound of geese honking together

and the sound of their powerful wings flapping

i love the sound of campfires crackling

and chainsaws cutting wood up for winter

i love the sound of waves lapping up onto the beach

in anticipation of the freeze that will be coming all too soon

i love the sound of the motorcycles

getting in the last good ride before they are covered up and packed away for the winter

my senses take in the smell of autumn

black mud taking in its last rains before the rain turns to snow (it is coming)

leaves that fall in heaps in the bushes, and decaying as they form their natural compost

there is a smell that comes with walks in the bush .... the wet leaves

the smell of wild sage

the smell of campfires and farmers burning their stubble

the smell of the last wiener roasts of the summer,

good coffee and toasted marshmallows

and in the house the smell of pumpkin pies

turkey and stuffing

while the thanksgiving meal is being prepared

o Lord, I am thankful

autumn

oh i love you

and yet you hold such bittersweet memories

it was in autumn that i took a year off to walk in my depression and its healing

it was in autumn that i had the last great conversations with my dad, before his sudden death

it was in autumn that my kids both went away to school, and my house became an empty nest

autumn ...

creation dies ... the seeds fall into the ground ... go dormant for winter

autumn ... beauty just before the starkness of barren trees

autumn ... the season of thanksgiving in so many ways

autumn

there is no season like you

and you speak deeply to my being

you engage my senses

my thoughts

my imagination

and while my camera captures some images

nothing will ever just really capture the beauty of the actual season, and the moments this season holds

i love you

autumn

my bittersweet love story