Thursday, October 8, 2015

Leaf Peeping

I'm getting more on schedule with my walking.  I'm trying to put some miles on my tennies  after work each day.   Daylight is fading earlier.  By 7pm it's too dark to walk in my favorite place...the cemetery.  Hitting the trails there before heading for home is my goal.  I kept thinking that Fall was taking it's sweet time this year.  The weather has been glorious with only a few days of rainy and cold.   I'm enjoying the mild temps and the blue skies and this week I've noticed that the trees are finally getting the message that it's October and time for leaf peeping!
At first it was just a hint of color.
Some bright orange among the green.
Some trees are just show offs....glowing brightly next to the late comers.
Monday it was getting more colorful.
Today I would say this is leaf peeping at it's best....vibrant and lovely.  I took a pic of a certain tree that usually gets just gorgeous right about now.  It looked like this on Monday:
Not quite ready.  Then today it was a different story...
Bam!  Dressed in it's finest.  I need to travel out of town and really take in the scenery before the winds of November have the trees bare.  I'm sure I'll bore everyone with cemetery shots of the changing seasons.  The beauty of October...the stark of November...the white and gray of Winter.  Maybe it's cliché to compare the seasons to life but I do feel I'm in the Autumn of my life.  I feel a different vibrancy than I did when I was in my 20's....my Spring I guess.  I know in a few short years I'll be heading into the Winter of my life.  I want to enjoy not only this actual Autumn season, but also my life's Autumn.  I feel more deeply about certain things and have slowly let go of unimportant ones....like leaves falling from the trees.  It's the last show of color for this season and I feel I'm in my last show of color in areas like my career.  In a few weeks one of my co-workers is retiring.  That leaves me one of the oldest workers in our department.  I can remember when I was the youngest!  I wouldn't give up the knowledge I've gained during the Summer of my life...it makes the Autumn more meaningful...interesting....and beautiful....just like leaf peeping.

9 comments:

Rick Watson said...

You won't bore me Yaya. I love fall fhotos. Our trees are beginning their transition too but we're a little behind.
R

Shady Del Knight said...

What a wonderful piece of writing this was, dear YaYa! Seems you and I are both feeling more deeply at this stage of the game and that's as it should be. I applaud you for taking walks and doing some leaf peeping every chance you get. I agree with Rick. It would be impossible for you to bore me with images of autumn leaves because I don't get to see them here in Florida. I am very happy to know that Ohio is experiencing a kinder and gentler fall than in other years, giving the trees a chance to change gradually and show their color longer. Enjoy the autumn of your life, dear friend Yaya.

Laurie said...

Great post, YaYa! You seemed to have summed up life so beautifully. You won't bore me with fall pictures, it's my favorite time of year. Keep posting pics of those gorgeous trees.

betty said...

These are great pictures! Our leaves are just staring to change; nothing as vibrant as yours. I think you should post the pictures from the cemetery in different seasons; I would enjoy looking at them and you wouldn't bore me. I do agree about the different seasons of our lives; like you I am in the autumn one. I stand amazed though how fast the seasons of my life went. I'm hoping this one slows down a bit to enjoy before heading to winter.

betty

Rosaria Williams said...

Love your last lines! Let's enjoy each and every season; without one, the others would pale.

selvageedge said...

Autumn is my favorite season. The colors have been a little sparse this year, but then I too have seen a few stand out trees like yours at the cemetery. If you are in the Autumn of your life, then I expect to be seeing a lot of beautiful things from you. :)

rjerdee said...

So many lovely metaphors in this piece...makes me think maybe I seek a constant Summer environment because I don't want to go into my Autumn. Unfortunately, my mirror betrays how I think about my life! Thanks for this philosophical moment :)

Julia said...

I love leaf peeping this time of year also and being in the Autumn of my life like you, I've learned to let go of a lot unnecessary things that weighs me down but I would love to retire. I'm getting too old to work as hard as I do.

Great shots of before and after the tree changing color.

Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
JB

Susan Anderson said...

Beautiful thoughts and photos.

I am anxious for fall to come this year. We aren't seeing it yet.

=)