Fall is Finally Here

Fall is, without a doubt, one of my favorite times of the year.  Its not too hot, and its not too cold.  The air smells cool, yet warm at the same time.  Its fresh air, dried maple leaves, and people starting to burn their wood stoves.  Its pumpkin pie and turkey and fresh bread just out of the oven.  And then there's the colors...
As an artist, I love color, so naturally I love fall.  Nothing is more beautiful than seeing the trees turn from that late summer green to vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows.  Even when they fall to the ground and the trees are bare and skeletal, the beauty of fall isn't over!  The trees have just shared their color with the grass that is steadily turning brown, and that brings us to the best part of the season...
Leaf piles.  Yes it sounds so juvenile, but even now if I had the opportunity, you would find me raking leaves into a pile just to jump into them.  They're so soft beneath you, with that warm, leafy smell in your nose, you could simply lie there forever, staring up at the clouds in the blue autumn sky and its like nothing else in the world ever mattered...  Its like the world is gone and its just you and nature.

 Fall has finally arrived in my corner of the country, but I am sad to say that its nothing like fall back home.  I miss the maple trees, and the birch, and the cherry, and the hemlock.  I miss the rolling hills, covered in fall colors.  I miss the sound of the stream outside my window and spending my days sitting at its banks.  I miss staying outside til well after dark, lying in the leaves, and watching the sky for shooting stars. 

Fall has no color here.  There are rocks, and there are pines, neither of which change color.  The aspen trees do turn yellow, but they are few.  This year I won't have the vibrant colors.  I won't have the smell of fall or the pile of leaves in my front yard. 

I will miss you, autumn.  Let's meet again sometime.