If you haven’t been in the Gorge in the last couple weeks, make it a point to do so… and if you have, make it a point to get back as soon as you can! The kaleidoscope of colors has been spectacular. Fall seemed to descend quickly and is proceeding along at a pace too fast for my liking. I want to grasp ahold of the days and slow them down so we can linger in this red-gold world longer.

I admire the yellow-orange of the sturdy sugar maples, and enjoy thinking about the taps those trunks may have hosted over the years, sharing their sweet water from inside. I like the tarnished look of the oaks, and appreciate their kindness in holding onto their leaves so that we can enjoy them after the other trees have let everything go. But best of all I love the garnet-colored sourwoods with their jewel-like droplets of dried blossoms draping from the branches.

Clear blue skies and warm sunny days combined with all this colorful beauty make me wish the season would never end. But I have no power to stop it, and in reality I would truly miss the sparkling frosts of peaceful December, the emerging wildflowers of expectant March, and the long carefree evenings of celebrant July. 

So I accept Fall as fleeting, and enjoy it while I can, with the faith and certainty that even greater beauty is in store.