Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Other Side of Autumn

Through the end of September 
and early October, we here in the Shire
had been enjoying perfect autumn days of blue and gold:
warm sunshine, clear blue skies,white clouds, 
and gentle cascades of  scarlet, orange, and yellow leaves.
It was all so beautiful, it made me glad that autumn had arrived.


And then...

The blue skies darkened, the wind picked up,
the graceful flit and fall of colorful leaves 
 collapsed under millions of pine needles 
sent spiraling and shooting from the trees.
And then, while I was thinking about owls and crows
 and cookies and chrysanthemums,
the rain started.
www.naturebitephoto.tumblr.com

And it rained and it rained.
And it rained some more.
The temperature dropped, but it is still raining.
The wind splatters it against the windows
and everything is soaked.

And then I remembered something I had forgotten:
autumn has a dark side.
Painting by Rosemary Ladd

But what can you do?
Light a fire, brew a cup of tea,
and eat some pound cake in the glow.
And remember, things could be a lot worse.
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