Already it's the end of October and the woods continue to change daily. Monday I began my week with a walk along the River. After a weekend of heavy downpours of rain and attending to several commitments it was a good time to experience beauty and peace. The morning sun entered the woods highlighting the colored leaves still waiting to drop. With blue skies and no wind the forest was still while the Ramapo slowly drifted southward carrying leaves resting on the water's surface.
This is my second post on Fall and in just one month the woods have changed significantly. Although the temperatures are in the 60s the trees have nearly all dropped their cyclic cover. Just as I enjoy the empty woods of the Spring, full of anticipation of the plant growth to come I now enjoy the fall and the empty trees readying themselves for the cold winds due within the next month. Walking along the River I imagine the 18th century farmers harvesting their crops from the rich and replenished soil of the flood plane. The land remains beautiful.
It is the fall where the path opens up, the clutter is removed and the next steps appear so clearly. The underbrush has disappeared and the leaves create a new bed 'settling into colorful layers carpeting the ground' (Edward Hirsch). Squirrels dart through the environment and continue their work in preparation for the next days of shorter daylight as we approach the winter solstice.
