Friday Ramble - A Later Shade of Gold

And so it goes... Most of the trees in the eastern Ontario highlands have lost their leaves and fallen asleep in their leaf-strewn alcoves, but others hold their turning in abeyance until November, and we are always happy to see them on our rambles.

Whole hillsides of lacy tamarack have gone gold, and their foliage dazzles the eyes. From a distance, the trees look as if they are on fire, and the vision lingers. When I remember their splendor in the depths of winter, the memory will leave me close to tears and hankering for a trip on foot into the tamarack stands north of Lake Superior.

Butternut trees are always the first to drop their leaves, but the great oaks along the trail into the deep woods retain their bronzy leaves well into winter, and native beeches are still wearing a delightful coppery hue. One of our favorite old maples puts on a magnificent golden performance in November, and we attend her one woman show with pleasure. While in her clearing, we remember to say thanks to her for brightening a subdued and rather monochromatic interval in the turning of the seasons.

It has been a windy autumn, and we were delighted to discover a few days ago that the north wind has not left Maple standing bare and forlorn in her clearing. It (the wind, that is) has been doing its best to render her leafless, but the tree is standing fast and holding on to her golden leaves. I would be "over the moon" if I could photograph or paint something even the smallest scrip as grand and elemental and graceful as Maple is creating in her alcove. Every curve and branch and burnished dancing leaf is a wonder, and the blue sky is a perfect counterpoint. So is the snow that fell yesterday.

Writing this, I remembered that along with being an archaic name for a scrap or fragment of something, the word scrip also describes a satchel or pouch once carried by pilgrims and seekers, and that seems fitting for ardent wanderers like Beau and I. It is a fine old thing to belong to the fellowship of tree and leaf, particularly in late autumn.