I warn you in advance, this post will contain very dramatic and schmaltzy prose which may induce nausea among people with weaker constitutions.
Fall has to be my favorite season of all. In talking with a couple friends I’ve found that this sentiment is not shared by all. Some see it as the throes of death before the dark, cold slumber of winter. When this was explained to me today it made complete sense to me how people could see it as such. I hadn’t ever thought of it in that manner but it does make sense. In fact that description helped me to distill a description for the way I have felt about autumn. I’ve seen it as a time of intense color and beauty as nature prepares itself for the reincarnation of spring after the still and calm rest of winter. I don’t see it as death so much as I see it as a time of celebrating life, even more so than spring.
Autumn is a magical time of golden radiance. The sun is starting to hang lower in the sky and the light is sharper and warmer. It is a perpetual golden hour, that time in the morning or evening when you can point your eyes or camera at almost anything and capture images of clarity and beauty. I love the drama of the change, positive and ultimately constructive change, in nature which is immersive of all the senses. The light and color, the earthy smell of the ground and the rain, the crisp crunching of the leaves, the colder air carries sound clearly, and the abundant tastes of the harvest.
After the frozen, brisk, intimate solitude of winter, nature stretches to wake once more making the world lush, fresh and free. The summer months then bring radiance, energy. Autumn brings the diversity and gifts of the other three seasons together, nature’s magnum opus, for the most stunning performance of the year. There is a new sense of intimacy and stillness along with refreshing cool air and earthiness with vibrance and light. An additional intangible element, one of maturity and majesty, makes autumn to preside over all the other seasons, bringing them into its court and commanding the finest qualities.
I realize that I made a similar post last year, it just goes to show how much I love this season. This autumn had a very strong beginning which quickly gave way to harsher winter conditions for a brief time which then melted away for warmer, almost summer-like weather. I’m hoping fall will be extended this year for additional enjoyment. With luck, I will be able to get out and take more photos and soak up the last traces of color and warmth before winter sets in for good.