Autumn in transition | Daybreak Note #184 | Oct. 10, 2019
Autumn, like spring, reminds me every single day that life is transition. The pace is unpredictable.
Above, “Three-Legged Buddha” by Zhang Huan at Storm King Art Center. {Photo by Brianne}
Good morning, dear!
Autumn has fully nestled into the air here in the Hudson Valley. The rolling mountains are covered in burnt browns and mahoganies and sometimes flares of orange, golds, sunset reds. Not many, though. The fall this year is muted, dim.
I miss the dance of the colors. I keep hoping that they will spark again, that the sugar in the maples or the spirit in the oaks will explode in a dazzle in the leafy canopy over with my commute, or the sweeps of color in the undulating horizon.
Autumn, like spring, reminds me every single day that life is transition. The pace is unpredictable.
Unlike winter and summer, which beat the same drum of heat or chill over and over, until we are numb with sameness, wrapped in scarves or sunscreen, autumn and spring keep us on edge, wondering what tomorrow will bring. The burst of baby leaves? The pop of a new daffodil? The small tree by the slides, verdant green one day, and neon pink the next?
I’m waiting right now for the single blustery rainstorm, otherwise unremarkable, that sweeps the crispy leaves off their tethers and shaves the mountains barren. And then winter, whether it is here yet by the calendar, will feel like it’s arrived.
All these little signs remind us that life is changing.
The leaves, and also
The opening of a shop.
The shuttering.
The little feet clamoring onto the steps of the bus.
The tired, old feet propped up on the couch.
Look around today. See the signs. The world is in transition. So are we.
With love,
Brianne
p.s. Daybreak Notes is now on Instagram! I’m just getting it wound up, but I’ll post autumn photos soon, along with poems, quotes, book recommendations, and more eventually. Follow along @daybreaknotes!