A Moment in Time

There are many moments in nature that I wish I could freeze and hold onto – moments I wish would last forever. One of my favorite such moments is the season of Fall, when the leaves are at their peak color, and the Autumn sky is crystal clear and cerulean blue. Today there has been a wind signaling an approaching storm, and the leaves have been swirling down in cascades of yellow and orange, little whirlwinds which envelop, making me feel completely encapsulated by the beauty of the forest. But I can’t stop these leaves from falling any more than I can stop a hurricane or a lightning bolt. I can’t keep these clouds from barreling across the sky, wrapping the sun in a shroud. These days will pass and the bare limbs of December will pierce a gray sky, which in turn offers its own quiet beauty. Lord willing, I will see those days as well. And my extreme consolation is the fact that the best is yet to come.

I love the lemon leaves of the striped maple with its’ smooth green and white trunk, the deep gold of the hickories blazing on the hillside, and most of all, the glorious scarlet of the sourwoods, bejeweled with the dried plumes of late Summer’s blossoms. I love seeing our guests with fistfuls of gathered favorites from the hiking trail. They may press them between pages of a journal, or sleeves in their suitcase, but even they won’t last. They will dry out and become brittle, and their colors will subdue just like memories fade. So, as I walk this trail and move fallen branches out of my path which have succumbed to the strong gusts, I have the freedom to let go, open my hands, and let those leaves fly away.