Fall

Fall is a gorgeous and amazing time of year. So much changes this time of year; from the colors of our forests, to a new school year, to major daylight and weather changes. I always have a slight feeling of nostalgia, too, for falls and seasons past. I look forward to this feeling and season every year though.

I am also awed every fall. Not just by my favorite weather and the beautiful red leaves of the maples, but by all of the species taking wing and heading south. I cannot help but smile at every V of geese going by, every monarch butterfly drifting along calmly checking out flowers on their thousand+ mile journey, and every group of noisy warblers stopping for the night. Seeing and thinking about these species’ journeys is truly inspiring. They leave our forests, fields, and lakes to travel to their other home and they do not worry that they will return in the spring to anything different. This trust in the stability of their home, and their ability to move such great distances with such precision is what inspires me. We, and generations after us need to make sure we all get to see these amazing creatures depart and return safely home. 

(Written 9/20/12 on Mt. Mansfield, VT)