Saturday, October 07, 2006

Autumn...








The graceful dance that usually accompanies October is absent today. Instead there is some wild whirling dervish of a devil woman moaning and whistling and shaking her skirts. No gentle caresses for those tired tree limbs of summer, so nearly ready to release their burdern of leaves. But a whoop and a grab and a shake and they are not only down but sailing across the roads and sidewalks. Piling up, like so much hastily dumped trash.
I would have to say this devil woman is not a pretty sight. When she howls like this, and shakes the trees on nights when the moon is full, one feels safer with our heads under the covers.
It may only be the 7th of October, but from the look of the hardwood trees, November isn't going to have much to do when she gets here.
The dry summer and odd temperature changes seem to have robbed the maples of their glowing red color here in my part of WI. The yellow glows as boldly as possible, but after today very little will be left, except on the ground.
But of course that provides a whole new adventure for school children and small pets. Those dancing leaves have intrigued many a dog, cat or child....drifting down so lazily from above, only to whirl and shoot upward again.
The days of leaf houses in the school yard, and leaf piles to jump in seem long gone. No longer do I see fathers in their sweaters, leaning on the rake watching the slow progress of the burn pile as the dry leaves fill the autumn air with their own special odor.
No more do you see the blacken remains of the leaf pile next to the curbs the next morning.
Very few corn shocks grace the farm fields or any place else except compliments of a yard designer. A few corn stalks some pumpkins and indian corn..ala autumn.
Somehow I doubt there is even remotely a sense of adventure at being buried in a pile of maple leaves anymore. I should ask my grandsons about that, but I have a pretty good idea what the answer would be. I'm sure it's not that bleak everywhere, but to me it seems we are losing alot. When everything is mechanical and organized and tucked into a compartment, or needs special equipment to enhance it. Where did all the excitement of the season changing go to? No one stuffing leaves down your shirt anymore? There seemed to be no end to what we could think of and do with autumns 'leavings'.

Do you have "leaf" pictures? It seems to me that somewhere there is a picture of that little blond Finn sitting in the middle of a pile of leaves. Leaves in her hair and all...grinning like a goose...I'll have to see if I can find that picture..*VBS*

16 comments:

Sweet P said...

You are one talented writer. I LOVE playing in a pile of leaves and getting them stuffed down my shirt and watching the pile slowly burn. We still have lots of leaves on the trees, but I'm going to take my camera with me in the car over the next week or two just so I can make DH stop the car so I can take a picture. When I have one, I'll share it.

Thanks for the leaf memories.

Susie said...

What great word pictures you drew in this post!
We're very warm here today, more like Indian summer than fall.
I do remember the smell of burning leaves from my childhood, but those days are gone in CA due to air pollution concerns...

Darcie said...

Wild Mother Nature here as well, Finn. She's blown all of the cattail fuzz from south of our house so much that, one would nearly mistake it for a blizzard...if it weren't 80 degrees outside! Perhaps TOMORROW Mother Nature will be kind again...as a sort of GIFT?!

Happy October! Hug Ebby for me!

Angie said...

Ah Finn, I have missed you, dear friend!! I saw the "whole moveable scene" in my mind's eye that you painted so vividly with your "word brush"! How talented you are! I hope you are over your malaise, and that Ebby has been taking good care of you while you've been "under the weather". :) Hugs, Angie
P. S. I finished my crocheted rug...posted a pic...thanks, again, dear Finn!

Melzie said...

Beautiful post Finn. I will find my leaf pics of my kids and post on my blog this week :) Here in my yard we LOVE the leaves, my kids will swipe leaves all over the neighborhood to make more more more. They make leaf mazes and leaf piles to jump in, etc :) xoxo melzie

Texan said...

Finn, what a lovely post... yes I too agree ... we seem to be loosing some of what gives you the best childhood memories...like the ones you just described :O)...

Good to hear from you... :O)...

Libby said...

You have such a way with words -- makes me long to jump in a big pile of leaves right now. I do remember leaves falling and the smell of burning leaves at my Grandma's house -- brings to mind Thanksgiving time.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Finn, you are such a good storyteller. I can picture everything you write in my mind.

I remember playing in the leaves with the kids...we had so much fun. After the fun was over, we'd burn the pile of leaves. Kids today have too many gadgets & don't go outside and play anymore.

It's been nice here for the last few days & we are beginning to see the leaves change in color...looks like we may get a beautiful fall. That is, if we don't get a whirlwind of a storm that blows all the leaves off the trees.

Cher said...

we had a neighbor with huge leafy trees and my boys got to do exactly those things-jump in the piles we made, throw handfuls at each other,etc. we weren't allowed to burn them, but stuffed them into bags...so some of us have those same great memories Finn! thanks so much for your lovely writing.

Hedgehog said...

Finn, I've posted a few leaf pictures lately. None from the past, though. Those are on another continent. The colors here are so beautiful - the most beautiful I've seen outside of New England - despite the dry summer. The are falling fast here, too, due to rain, as well as wind. They are even more beautiful when they're wet, but I was hoping for just one photo of the leaves against a blue sky like the one you've posted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations.

McIrish Annie said...

I feel your wistfulness for the past. We live on a street with chestnut trees planted the length of it. The five of us and many cousins used to spend hours throwing sticks up into the trees to make the nuts fall. We would peel the green spiky cover off to reveal the smooth brown nut. we would collect them in bags and count to see who had the most or string them for necklaces.

Life was definitely simpler then. If it's any consolation, my husband and I still rake our leaves. We love the activity of cleaning up the colorful leaves. I HATE those blowers adding more noise to the world.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Today is Oct. 8th!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Finn!!!

I hope that you are spending the day around family & friends today and know that I'm thinking about you and wishing you well.

BIG BIG HUGS to you on your special day and don't forget to save me a piece of Birthday cake.

Your friend forever,
Sandy :)

Judy said...

Sandy beat me!! OCTOBER 8TH!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FINN!!! Happy 66 years!
You are always there for everyone here leanding a hand or sendign good wishes to get us going! Have a wonderful birthday today and do whatever makes your hearts sing!!

dot said...

I like reading about your reflections on life. You are a very gifted writer. Thanks for sharing your perspective. I agree life is very different and I look back on the simple times with good thoughts and feelings. Oh how I long for a big pile of leaves in the fall and the smell of buring leaves. Maybe that is why I enjoy buring wood in my outdoor fireplace.

Elaine Adair said...

I thought I would invite you to my 'leaf' picture on yesterday's blog posting ... well, it's a 'fall' picture, anyway, but it's hard to tell! My, how our geography is different! But I DO miss YOUR kind of 'fall'.

Thanks for the visit.

ForestJane said...

Great word-images, Finn! And scent images too, leaves have always had a smell I love.

And I think you got your black cat just in time for her best season. :)