fall

A Gift from the Wind and Rain

As if peaking in my window to say, Hello there you! this sweet leaf greeted me as I walked through the door of Joyful Pause Cottage studio early this morning.

It really felt like the leaf was smiling at me. This simple thing filled my heart with joy. I thought, the gift of the wind and rain. This is how this leaf found its way to now be sitting on my window pane.

How often we bemoan the wind and rain. I’m guilty of this at times for sure. But today this adorable little leaf reminded me of the gifts the wind and rain bring.

So as I set out on my walk this morning as if to reinforce this message from the tawny yellow leaf, I noticed the sky to the west was dark with impending rain. I thought for a moment to turn around and head back home. But instead, it was as if that little leaf was encouraging me to keep going.

And so I did. And the rain began to fall lightly. But my neck wrapped warm with a scarf, mittens upon my hands, my hood up over my hat and head, I snuggled into the coziness of it all.

The trees were ablaze in color and the rain tickled my face. It was invigorating and I felt such gratitude for nature and all her endless gifts.

Autumn Leaves

I paused to watch
a single yellow leaf drop,
spiraling,
to the ground.
 
Another fell, and yet another.
A slow rain bringing nutrients
to earth to feed the leaves
that would in spring burst forth
to cover branches in a cloak
of green.
Still they dropped, one here,
one there. Twisting and turning,
laying down a golden blanket
to warm the roots
for winter.
XO
Barb
 
    

It’s in the Air

It's in the Air.
photo credit: Mary Kohls Blanke

How does nature do it? This subtle shift that begins to take place with the changing of seasons.

The light dances early in the morning in my Zen writing cottage with a different rhythm than earlier this summer. It almost looks as if it is a soft ripple of a wave cascading over my hardwood floor. I want to swim in its magic!

This photo above I saw on Facebook this morning, by one of my favorite local photographers Mary, and it made me catch my breath. Another indication that we are moving ever-so-gently toward autumn.

Fall…my most favorite time of the year! I truly wish there was a place on earth that was fall all year-long. Ah, but as I write this, it would likely take away the magic and the anticipation -two things I’m not willing to sacrifice.

Autumnal season…It conjures up in me the most delightful feeling – one I find hard to express in words – because fall is all about emotion for me.

I find myself wanting to listen to piano music. I want to declutter and organize and am thrilled to say my walk-in closet, plus jewelry and make-up has been freed of its staleness and the letting go of what no longer sparked joy. Many clothes and shoes I have tired of are headed to St. Vincent De Paul this week…to be loved by another. I wish them well.

I want to immerse myself in nature more with walks. My heart melts into a welcome slowing down around our chiminea as the geese have returned and begun their nightly honking and fly-overs.

This summer has been much about letting go for me and a time of embracing new possibilities. Opening and expanding which isn’t always easy work, but serving as a beautiful response in how I feel about my life.

And just like nature, we must allow our lives to flow without trying to control it, knowing that each season brings with it just what we need.

It’s in the air…and I welcome it all.

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The Changing Light and Contemplation

The Changing Light and Contemplation

I enjoy this time of year and how the light is casting different shadows and landing in new places it hadn’t all summer. Like this photo of Gidget with the light falling across her face, looking like she is in contemplation, I feel in that same place, too.

I’m not yet ready to let go of summer, while at the same time, ready to move into the season of cooler air, bursts of color, and a time I like being outdoors more while I also feel drawn to hunker down at home, too. But these last few weeks I’ve felt suspended in this in-between place.  Perhaps because there are a few weeks of summer to go, but yet I yearn for fall on the near horizon.

It’s like a tug of my heart trying to hold on, while a pull of my heart wanting to bring in the season that is my most favorite. But the light…the light is my reminder that it is on its way. And that this in-between place I feel will soon melt into leaves crunching under my feet, a cool breeze blowing through my hair, cozy nights wrapped in a blanket around the chiminea, and nights with the moon so full and bright it takes my breath away.

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