Fall is the Best time of the year

Beause of:

• Cooler temperatures!
• Getting to wear sweatshirts, and sweaters,.
• The clouds return to the mountains and every day the view is new
• Hot chocolate
• Hot apple cider
•  Hot spiced wine
•  The anticipation of upcoming holidays, gathering with friends and family
•  The gradual winding down of yardwork
•  Stormy colours in the sky
• Halloween…decorations, kids on the street, spookiness
• Thanksgiving. Perfect holiday. Family, friends, food, gratitude.
• Giving in to the seasonal desire for new notebooks and pens!
• Fall fruits – apples, pears, etc.
• Fall veggies – acorn squash, yams, etc.
• The smell of apple crisp or gingerbread bakingBrightly colored leaves on the trees
• Getting the fireplace going
• Pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks
• The debut of new shows on TV (yeah, I admit it)
• People complaining about the (relative) cold
• People saying, “I wouldn't mind if it never got any colder than this.” 
• Comparing our weather in BC with the weather in Ontario.
• Feeding and watering the house plants less oftenStarting to think about Christmas gifts for people
• Good hiking weather
• Orion dancing through the morning sky
• The Leonids meteor showersHot tea on a cool morning patio
•  Fat pine cones on our pine tree
• Christmas decorations starting to show up in the stores…I really don’t mind. I like the colours and the anticipation.
• Lighting candles in the evening
• You know that scent, right? It is earthy and rich and moist. It comes later in the fall when the leaves have been falling for a while and have probably been rained on and maybe there have been a couple of slightly warmer days so the decomposition has started. You must know that scent. It is autumn
• Pumpkins everywhere. They’re so common, they’re like a piece of furniture this time of year and they’re good until Thanksgiving!
• Witches and black cats. I love the history and origins of Halloween and all the symbols, too.
• Haunted houses. We didn't get to go to any “haunted” houses this year but I love being scared. Halloween and costumes. I loved seeing the kids from babies to near-adults (and some adults, too) dressed up from cute to freaky. 
• Trick-or-treat. I love this culmination of the scary-season: the costumes, 
• Daylight savings. Yes, it’s controversial but I become more productive in the morning because of it
• New autumn smells permeate the air. The first time you catch a whiff of smoke coming from a neighbour's chimney, you know fall as officially arrived. That smell mingles in with the dry leaves cluttering the ground and your olfactory senses can't deny that the smell of fall is in the air. 

Fall a beautiful time of year

When I wake up in the morning, the first sight that greets me through my bedroom window,  is the stunning vibrant red of a Maple Tree that is turning; if the sun is up the leaves dance in the sunlight as the dew sparkles and dries.

As I walk along the Fraser River on my daily travels the tree leaves rustle to awake my senses, the oranges, melt into the reds, hugged by the yellows, are kissed by the evergreens swaying in the wind.  Some days the river runs backwards and the logs float back to the interior and the river is dark blue, on other days the river runs into the sea, the logs rush to the ocean and the river turns a shade of brown. Every day is different as was today

Today,  as I walked toward the pier, the sun caught the leaves of the Willow, floating like a spider's web in my path. Rising in the middle of this web, rose the middle tower of the Port Mann Bridge. I stopped and my mind wandered back to my youth.

I noted the sky as it turned from red to orange with purple and blue hues mixing as the sun started sinking. When I was younger I would watch the clouds form shapes and create plays for my mnd; I let my mind continue to wander back and as I watched the shape of a Grizzly Bear arose from the clouds with an arm outreaching. The Bear I thought was trying to capture the sun and hold back the storm clouds which were forming.

The wind picked up and I heard drops of water settling on the river, which had been silent and still but as the water spread like drops of salt spilled on the table, the river sprang to life and started to chase after the bear, the sun and the dream. Every day is different. Fall on the West Coast is a wonderful time of year.

Imagination, is a wonderful tool, use it, pass it on to your children and your grandchildren and let them glory in building their own cloud dreams.

Systems

On my walks I have time to think and to watch the world as it unfolds in my tiny universe. Over the next few weeks the leaves will start to bloom again, the grass will grow. As I walk I will enjoy watching the river banks start to climb up the dyke as the winter snow start to melt; flooding is an issue in many parts of the world but has not been along the banks of the Fraser for a long time. The flowers along the river banks will slowly open to the bring beauty back to the desolate browns that have been in my vision for the winter. There will be more activity on the river as the booms and the tugs move along the wood to the mills and the fish start to come back to spawn. The system of life or the cycle of life continues. Spring is my second favourite time of the year. Fall is my favourite. Spring brings hope of renewal and energy while Fall brings the joy of harvest and the promise of a new day.