autumn colors

The change from a glorious fall to winter

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It’s been an extended and lovely fall season here in the North. The trees took on their autumn colors and glowed in the sunshine and the unusual warmth. It’s been a time of “oohs” and “aahs” as we’ve taken in the glorious colors – golds, yellows, reds, oranges, and all the shades imaginable.

With a night or two of temperatures below freezing, the colors began to loose their luster. The brightness dimmed and the leaves began to loosen their grip. Down they fluttered (or seemingly slammed if the wind was gusting) and covered the ground. Rakes and leaf blowers have been brought back to life from the deep reaches of the sheds and garages. Now as you walk outside there is a crunch under your footsteps – a signal to the seasonal change to winter.

And as we enjoy 60s and 70s today, there’s even a forecast of snow in two days! Each year we marvel and appreciate the fall colors, and each year we say how much we enjoy them and wish they’d last longer. But Mother Nature is always on her own schedule. She has given us an autumn show that’s been spectacular, and for that I am grateful.

The end of fall

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And just like that, Mother Nature has flipped a switch and we’re at the end of fall. It’s been a glorious and unusually long season this year in the upper Midwest but like all good things it has come to an end. Five days ago the wind was still, the sun was shining, and the only colors remaining were from the oaks with their remaining rusty leaves. Today the temperatures have fallen, the wind has removed any remaining leaves from the trees, and we have a forecast of snow.

Sometimes the change of seasons can be disconcerting to me, especially the ones where the days become shorter and the darkness becomes longer. But I’m reminded that just like the leaves that have fallen from the trees, it is all temporary. There will still be beauty in the coming season and days but it will be in a different palette – one of white – and the landscape will take on a new cloak of loveliness.

Golden colors of fall

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We’re now in the midst of the fall season, surrounded by vibrant and glorious colors. Each day brings something new – a tree whose leaves have turned overnight or a tree whose leaves have dropped to the ground.  Fall is correctly referred to as the season of change and this year that change seems to be especially dominated by the colors of yellow and gold.  The colors are vibrant when painted with sunshine against a bright blue sky and they stand out amidst a gray sky.  And once those lovely yellow and gold leaves have dried and fallen to the ground, they crunch and crackle under the weight of shoes and boots.

Our short season of fall asks me to admire and appreciate it each day.

Fall in its glory

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Fall is here in all its glory!  The yellows, golds, oranges, and reds, all aglow against a dark stormy sky but lit up by a short-lived stream of sunlight, and reflected in the quiet and still waters of the lake.  This is the beauty we look forward to every year in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Fall is in the air

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Fall in the air 20150909_185659 StaatsThe winds have been from the south, bringing warm and summer-like temperatures into Minnesota.  But the days are shorter and nature is anticipating the change of seasons into fall.  Some of the trees have started the change in colors – a glorious outburst to the beauty of nature and autumn.  I was riding my bicycle on the Gateway Trail yesterday.   The sunshine was warm and I was breaking a sweat but the air didn’t have the fresh green smell of summer.  The path was littered with dried leaves that had already fallen, and they crackled as my bike tires ran over them —  reminding me of being a child and using clothespins to attach playing cards to my bike so they would snap through the spokes.  The sound was delightful and I found myself swerving to ride through the leaves on the trail.  Change is in the air.