An Autumn Sunday

Sunday morning, and as I sit at my desk and look
out the window onto the front porch, I can see leaves drifting down from the trees onto the grass;
there's a pumpkin at my front door and pots of mums tucked in the borders.

Green leaves are giving way to the golds and russets of Autumn already;

it really is Fall.

Yesterday, Howard brought home a half dozen mums that we placed here and there,

and he pulled our two stick scarecrows out of the shed; they are back on sentry duty for the season.  

Autumn is change and contrast -- it's the bounty of the harvest against the shriveling of the vines.

It is, as I wrote in a post just about a year ago, the silk of Summer

against the crunch of Fall.

I'm re-running that post today; I hope you missed it first time around!

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(October 10, 2010)

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

It is remarkable, how one little patch of God's green earth

changes its wardrobe from a summertime riot of silky fresh color . . .

. . . to the crisp and crunchy textures and colors of Fall.

All in the blink of an eye.

I learned just a few years ago that the autumn colors of leaves --

those russet reds, those golds and browns, the yellows and plums -- are actually the real colors of the leaves.
Those colors have been there all along, lurking, hidden by the green.

The green is a costume.

A chlorophyll phantasy.

(Our technicolor forsythia in autumn.  The only time it's as beautiful is when it's in bloom.)

Knowing this has changed how I look at autumn color.

Now, I look at an Autumn hued tree and think, "Ah-ha!  I'm seeing the real you!"

That maple tree in the corner of your yard?

She's been hiding her glorious Titian hair under Plain Jane green all summer.

How kind of Mother Nature to clothe
her jewel-colored trees and bushes in quiet green

for the summer, leaving all the colorful glory to the flowers.

And how kind to give those trees and bushes
a riotous chance to shine before bleak winter.

Enjoy the color in your own backyard! -- Cass

Linky Parties
At The Tablescaper, it is Seasonal Sunday.  Click here!
And at Happy To Design -- Sunday Favorites is on the menu.  Click here!

P.S. My apologies to the science teachers out there.  I should have paid attention in class, lo those many years ago!