Leafing Fall Behind

It's intensive winter prep time. A hard frost is predicted for Saturday night and many folks, in addition to preparing for Apple Fest this weekend (an annual event that can draw up to 80,000 people to this town of 640), are scurrying to put gardens to bed and winterizing homes as if our lives depended on it (indeed, they do).

My mid-afternoon TCC practice on the deck was a delight. As the woods thin out I see farther and farther into what was previously dense and green. Yellow and gold have taken over completely. There are tinges of green, sure, but only enough to add a taste of lime to the yellow-gold-orange main entree.

One strong, stiff breeze midway through practice sent leaves tumbling en masse. As the forest opens up I sight glimpses and glances of light that illuminate the deep woods and transform it into a glittering fairyland.

While I moved in the 60 degree heat yellow and gold leaves reflected the light back to me in a dramatic undulating incandescence. Yep, we're at the height of this annual convergence of fall into winter and ...  it's golden.