Monday, October 10, 2005

Fall is a Beautiful Time Here

Living where I do has genuine benefits. Fall color is one of them. We had drought this summer. Color is off. But all in all it’s still spectacular.

Growing up in ND, going to college in Fargo, I saw posters of the fall on campus pictures from around the country. Oranges, Reds, Golds, Purples and Magenta, magic colors far off the prismatic scale. In ND. Green, frost, brown or No frost, a few weeks of yellow, then brown. Then that special day all people from North Dakota know well. Yellow leaves on the tree all fall off in an hour as the sun rises after a hard freeze. Yesterday it was clothed in bright yellow (Elm and Ash do this best), a cold night and by noon she stands naked. I have intentionally stood under these trees as they molted to experience the effect.

I didn’t know different, I thought we should be happy for what we got. I was. It was pretty in it’s own way. I still enjoy it when I have been hunting in ND and there are leaves on the trees with a muted expression as if a Norwegian introvert had painted them. (a Norwegian introvert looks at his shoes when he talks to you, a Norwegian extrovert looks at yours).

Nothing too bold or colorful.

Color says winters coming. I’m not ready. It was too hot to enjoy summer.

Maybe global warming will set in and we won’t have winter this year. I can only hope.

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