Autumn

I wanted to take a day trip up north this fall to see the foliage but it doesn't look like I'll have time to do it. I will get to Simcoe on Sunday and that should give me the chance to see some lovely fall colors, though.

Just driving around town today I felt joyous looking at the lovely display already showing up here. The maple tree in my front yard is half way through it's change but the maple trees in the backyard must get a bit more protection from the cooler temperatures so they've barely started their's.

I do love spring with it's rebirthing of plants and flowers but fall is probably more spectacular. I live on an escarpment so when I'm in the lower city in October, the whole side of what we locals call our mountain is like candy to the eye. The vast range of colors in many shades of green, orange, red, and yellow is nature at it's best. One year I visited Vermont the first week of October and saw colors there I'd never seen anywhere else. The mountainsides were so lovely they brought tears to your eyes.

People who live in the concrete jungles of an inner city and never have the chance to take a drive into the countryside in autumn are missing something precious. Instead of spending thousands of dollars busing inner city children to view sports events, they might do better for the children's souls if they just bused them out into the countryside. The beauty of nature gives us a respect for the land we live in and a sense of our being a part of it.

Today is a perfect fall day. There is a crispness in the air and the sun is shining. Kim and I went to Costco this morning to get food stuff for Thanksgiving dinner on Monday. She's also going to a poker party at her cousin's house tonight so she picked them up a lovely fall plant arrangement. Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, good food, and the opportunity to appreciate autumn colors.