Autumn

The smells of fall are in the air. A brisk breeze is blowing. Leaves skitter across the ground. The scent of the warm furnace kicking on fills the rooms of the house. The leaves are turning...yellow, gold, bronze, and brown. Here and there is a scattering of orange, red, pink, and purple. Trees with burnt orange tips dot the landscape. Green at the bottom with color gradually working its way up to the top. Deep purple, almost brown leaves stand out against the remaining green. From the bottom of the tree you see green, yet gradually it turns yellow and at the tips orange. A bright orange or red little tree catches my eye. I look around at the dull yellows and golds and browns and then...aah! A bright beauty stands out against the rest. These are the things I see as I drive along the road in Saint Joseph, Missouri.

There is nothing like the Fall. It is absolutely my favorite time of the year. The smells and the sights, the warm cozy sweaters, and rosy red cheeks are what make the world glorious at this time of year.

It can also be a time of longing. Longing to see home again. Longing for bright reds, oranges, yellows everywhere the eye can see, with only a scattering of green in between. To look across the expanse of a rippling lake and see a hillside on fire with color, that is what I long to see.

I have worked hard to find the beauty here in Missouri over the years and I have been blessed with the ability to find it. You always see what you are looking for. I still miss the sights of home. I loved the big red maple tree that stood in front of our first home. With leaves of deep purple during the spring and summer, followed by bright glorious red engulfing its branches in the fall. There is nothing like Fall in New England. I think Heaven will be filled with these wonderfully beautiful sights too!