“Time flies never to be recalled.” — Virgil
Sometimes it really does seem to have happened in the blink of an eye. A day, a week, a month, passing by with such swiftness as to make you dream of ways to hang on, to slow things down. Happy moments arrive and before we know it they become pleasant memories.
It’s with this somewhat sentimental view that I turn my eye to fall’s imminent arrival. Having attained a perfectly nice little burn under late summer’s blazing sun this past weekend, it was almost possible to ignore the chill that has seeped into the evening air, or the shortening hours of daylight.
Long walks at the lakeshore, wining and dining with family and friends on the deck, are also experiences that cast a spell, ones that delude us into imagining we are not experiencing summer’s twilight.
There is one facet, however, to which it’s really difficult to turn a blind eye. While out for a cruise this past weekend in our beloved 1967 Dodge, I noticed a bank of trees at the side of the roadway that had begun their magnificent transformation to autumn. Glints of sunlight danced off the foliage as shades of burnished orange, cheery yellow and fiery crimson popped against the cerulean sky. It was a breathtaking moment quickly followed by a second when the realization struck that with this spectacular show we could no longer deny autumn was on its way.
It’s the promise of this performance from Mother Nature that makes the upcoming season palatable for me now. However, as a youngster, born in September the fall was a delightful time of year. There was the excitement of heading back to school followed by our rural community’s annual fall fair. Visions of candy floss and caramel apples, roller coasters and ferris wheels filled daydreams.
But it was something far less superficial that lifted our energy, that occupied countless of autumn hours, that exemplified childhood. Rustling our way home from school through the detritus left by nature’s summer shedding, we ran, kicked and laughed. Plowing our way through piles of colourful leaves, burying ourselves under the crispy colours or tossing handfuls in the air, were welcome childhood pastimes that chased away any doldrums over summer’s loss.
As an adult though, it takes a lot to get excited over this particular seasonal transformation. While the first kick through fallen leaves can stir quiet memories of youthful bliss, they are short-lived as they also serve as a reminder that hours of raking will follow. It might have been fun when called upon by Mom and Dad to take on this chore for a time, but it’s worn thin over the passing years.
Since winter’s chill and bluster have long ago lost any charm for me, autumn, as its predecessor carries with it a certain ominous foreshadowing. Despite an appreciation for its incredible beauty I can’t help but feel a touch forlorn.
But then a drive on a bright, clear fall day, rubbernecking right and left to take in all of the magnificent foliage is sure to lighten the spirit.
For that reason then, today’s selection of images puts the focus on showy autumn with amazing photographs from iPHOTOS.com and Clipart.com
