Creepers, Clouds and Early Light

No doubt about it, colors in the landscape are turning toward autumn. Where vibrant greens reigned in the woods only a few days ago, now there are tattered beiges, creams and greys, swaths of gold, crimson and copper, alluring splashes of purple, indigo and burgundy.

There is a different slant to light filtering through trees in the park, and on morning walks, their shadows fall across our path, as sharp as knives. Sunbeams spark off wet grasses along the way, and every puddle is a sea of light. Five bright fingers of Virginia creeper rest on the dew-spattered hood of a nearby parked car like a mantra, like an open, beckoning hand. The vehicle's polished surface holds clouds and sky too, and the composition stops us right in our tracks.

Such fragrances at this time of year, ripening crabapples, aromatic leaves and wild herbs going to seed, nuts, acorns and the occasional chestnut (or conker).  I pick up a ripe walnut from the trail and breathe in its fine, astringent perfume. My little list of wonders grows longer with every passing day, a splendid litany for this precious interval as one season dances into another.