Sunday, August 11, 2013

Harbingers Along the Trail

Virginia creeper, also called Five-leaved ivy
(Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
One morning everything is green, and then suddenly, there they are a day or so later - showering cascades of vibrant red and bronze draping the trees along the edge of the forest and dancing all the way along the trail up into the woods.  

There are a thousand and one hues, and they are fabulous stuff, engaging both eye and lens completely, but they're the heralds of approaching autumn, and you know, you just know, that your favorite season is not so far off.

There have been hints here and there, of course, cooler evenings, breezes and skies full of stars at night.  August dishes out grand vistas by the handful, and September is an artist's month for sure (aren't they all?), but here are the first exotic racy reds gamboling and cavorting on ahead as blithe heralds of the grand and spicy times to come.  Here we come too in our own fashion (or the lack thereof) - not draping the trees in shimmering waterfalls and swaths or tangoing along the trail like leaves, but doing our own translating into autumn nevertheless, an ardent lurching jig of sorts.

2 comments:

Cindy said...

The morning light is changing. The blue of the early morning light is lingering longer now before the first rays of sunlight enter my surroundings. The slant of sunlight is different now, too. The season is getting ready to shift into gathering mode. The birds are heralding their presence a little quieter. The morning sun comes through my living room curtains in dappled patterns across the floor, my kitty stretches out long in the light. Small comforts like this stop me in my tracks...golden sunlight through lace curtains, green-eyed kitty looking content, the sound of the ticking cuckoo clock, the feel of my coffee mug in my hand, the silence and peace that envelopes the brink of a new day. This home of mine never fails to embrace me when I need it the most. Enjoy your day and the beauty that's there waiting for you.

Wyld Oak said...

Thank you for identifying the Virginia Creeper--I saw a beautiful stretch of it on a chain link fence with green berries starting to darken to aubergine, but had no name for its flaming beauty!