The Scent of Autumn

The scent of Autumn hangs in the air even as summer strains to hang on just a little longer. But here comes the great tastes and fragrances of fall. I’m reminded of taking Sunday drives through the colorful maple forrest with Karen while we were newlyweds at UVa. We would venture to the backwoods of western Virginia to a harvest festival where warm fresh maple syrup infused donuts were being made. Gracious they were good. In Kansas while I was a professor at KU we attended Apple pressings. We picked fresh apples and pressed them on the spot with our friends creating Apple juice that quenched more than your thirst. Divine. In the distance were the sights and sounds of geese migrating and the scent of smoke from a neighbor’s first fire of the season. In Colorado where we lived a few years ago rivers of golden Aspens flowed through mountains of evergreens. Their leaves happily dancing and twirling wildly in the crisp mountain breezes. In Utopia along the Sabinal River the great cypress trees drop their red fir needles this time of year creating the most elegant painting on the still surface of the crystal clear water. 

I need this time to take it all in. To breathe in change. To contemplate deeply with our Father, to dream big, give Him the agitation and sit still for a while. 

Tonight I’m sitting next to Karen in the front yard at sunset. Our bare feet feel the cool freshly planted winter rye. In the adjacent field young bucks are rattling their horns in playful battles before the coming rut. We are excitedly anticipating the first blue norther of the season to blow through soon. We have a tradition of baking our first apple pie of the season when the temperature plunges and the winds howl from the north. And when we take our first bite we will be thankful for all the autumn memories we have shared.  Life is good. Change can be good. Talk soon…