Signs of Fall

The warm sunny days of summer are fading, and a new season is unveiling it’s magic.  Emerald leaves transform into amber flakes and drift down to the frost-eaten earth.  Vivid colored leaves dance as an enchanting wind whispers through them.  Squirrels scurry beneath the gnarled oaks gathering a winter’s supply of acorns and seeds. 

As the day ceases and the night emerges, crickets foretell the coolness of the night, while chirping their tuneless melodies.  When the sun rises, the sounds of turkeys are as abundant as the sun’s rays.  Deer prance through a forest with gold, ruby, and tangerine floors that crack and crunch as if made of glass.  Geese fly overhead honking as they migrate towards the warm climate of the south.

A distinguished aroma of decaying leaves enclose around me.  Ripe apples fall from knotted branches and leave behind a sweet fragrance.  Newly planted trees give off an earthy smell from the upturned ground, and the scent of burning wood comes up through chimneys of homes all over town.

When I feel around me, everything comes to life.  Rough, crunchy, and dry leaves float out of my palm to the hard damp ground.  Bark of the gnarled oak scratches my hand, and the whispering wind brushes past my face.  Autumn has arrived, and the magic of it thrives.

By: Shelbi Bruse