Last Fall it got really cold early in the fall and all the leaves just died and fell, becoming an unceremonious pulp under the snow. It was ugly. This fall has been picture perfect. In mid-September, it got pretty chilly and I had to turn the furnace on in the evenings, but since then, it warmed up and the trees have had a nice period of time to show off their most vibrant and beautiful colors. We live in the oldest part of town, so the trees that surround us are tall and full. It has been joyful to drive or walk in our neighborhood, happily assailed by the silent voices of our living mosaic. The nearly neon blue sky has been a fitting backdrop to the yellows and scarlets and crimsons and greens the trees have provided. Bliss.
This has been a gift to me from my native Wyoming. We are leaving here in just a month, to move and live full time on an island of perpetual summer. If life events go according to our current plan, I won’t be in this country for another fall. That is perfectly fine with me…I detest the snow and cold. I hate the howling of the wind – and while I like watching the tumbleweeds dance across the prairie, the cruel harshness of gusts and chill factors doesn’t make that dance worth it. It makes me sad to see the grass turn brown and the flowers I’ve loved all summer die. I’m ready to forego the winter in Wyoming. But still. I am thankful beyond words for the beautiful send off this fall has afforded us. I rejoice at the variety of colors as the leaves play with the last of the warm breezes. Thanks, Wyoming. Thanks, God.
