Rain-Spattered Morning

Walk location: the neighborhood
Time of walk: Morning
Skies: cloudy with light rain
Temperature: 63 degrees
Steps: 3,000

We have had so many warm days in the past few weeks, and so little precipitation, that it has not really seemed like Autumn at all. This morning, however, is a reminder that fall is here. It is warm and breezy with sprinkles under a sodden horizon. Each day more hardwoods are showing their seasonal signs, the mottled yellows, oranges and reds contrasting with the lively greens we see all summer long. With the light rain some of the leaves have begun to fall to the ground, often lying in symmetrical patterns, children released from their parental stasis, blown into the larger world to scatter.



This beautiful crimson maple leaf, blurred in the rain and in the motion of my walk-frenzied hands, is a good representation of what the morning is like. It is full of depth and richness, pregnant with possibility. The world is alive today with refreshing rains, billowing gusts of wind, spattered hues of autumnal leaves. It is the season of harvest, of fruition, of completion. Its beauty and complexity belie the winter months, not so distant now, when nature will quiet herself and a serene blanket of inactivity will ensue.