Saturday, October 23, 2010

A Little Bit of Fall Color~

Having grown up in a Navy family, I have had the privilege of living back East, as well as on the West Coast and Hawaii.
Having experienced these vastly different climates and all that they offer, I have had a taste of the color madness that goes on at this time of year in colder climates.
Southern California where I live has it's own fantastic charm, and although we have a shortness of true trees,(we like to think that palm trees suffice),when September rolls around we tend to think that there is a change in the air and a coming change of seasons.

Having experienced the actual four seasons that display themselves back East,I have an earnest urging to experience the color change of Autumn, to ramble down trails in wooded areas where Mother Nature displays her best works of art. The colors are captivating, and enchanting!

Every fall I long to capture the beauty that I fondly remember from my youth.

This week I traveled to Tennessee for a visit with my son and his wife,to take in the color and emblazon it in my brain and capture it on my camera.


When do the leaves decide it is time to change color? What is the "Peak" time of color?
When One is longing to witness this phenomenon, it is extremely important to know this.It is not an easy task, so One has to be approximate and hope that Mother Nature co-operates.

When One lives amongst the four seasons, it just happens and you experience them on a daily basis as they pass by, but when One has only a brief period of time, it is imperative to hit it on the button, and I think that I have!

The leaves are turning, and the color is quite beautiful. I want to pull the car over to the side of the road and capture the mere beauty of the sun sparkling through the colorful display on the back country roads. Mostly oranges and yellows, but also a smattering of magenta red. This is day one and I can hardly wait to witness what is yet ahead!

I somehow am drawn to the cemetery or graveyard where the ancient headstones are markers, memories of lives gone past here. I stand and try to decipher the etched engravings of words worn by the weather,but still faintly readable. How many people drive by this spot and do not stop or even remember this person who made a difference once so long ago? I snap a picture. It will now be recorded in my heart forever, for I was meant to wander by today, this year, to look and wonder and remember this which I chose to look upon. For if I had not looked upon that most beautifully colored tree, I might not have realised there were memories of lives past
reposing there, someone planted that tree as a most lovely gift, then and for now.

1 comment:

Pamela said...

Beautiful Narrative. :)