Autumn’s colors start to deepen. First there is the yellow of the rag weeds in the fields, and then the azure blue of the field flowers, and then come the oranges of ripe pumpkins, and finally the flame reds of the maple trees. It’s like a parade of marching soldiers, all dressed out in different colored uniforms. But we all know that this parade of colors will soon enough come to an end.
Every fall I feel a sadness that comes over me. I want the long warm summer days and sunlight filled evenings to last forever. Why does that sun have to make its journey to the south just to pleasure some other folks who I don’t even know? Why not linger longer here in the northern hemisphere so we can enjoy the beautiful blue color of our Finger Lakes and the puffy white cumulus clouds which float just below the background of a clear blue sky?
Who am I to tell our sun what it should be doing or where it should be going at this time of the year? No, I am nothing – just a creature that was formed out of the earth’s dust. But before I return to dust again, I intend to catch every moment of the sun’s rays, just like the bumble bee that I saw trying its best to suck out every last drop of nectar from a few left over summer sunflowers.
Even now it is time to think of spring. It’s time to bury those daffodils and tulips which you bought in the store or received in the mail. There in the cold wet earth, they will take their winter’s nap, only to awaken in the spring and to begin to slowly rise out of the frozen ground to face the returning sunshine once again!