Orange, Red

Leaves. Fall leaves. Yellow for sure, but orange, red and orange red. Startling. The tree jumps to your attention. The color vibrant, demanding even, of your attention.

I didn’t grow up with fall color. I was from Southern California, and yes, we did have trees of all sorts. A lot of firs ever green throughout the year. They forested the mountains. We camped in them. Hiked in their presence as well. Sitting still in a forested glen, all alone, no one about, the silence was enormous. I swear I could hear the bark grow, squeaking and clicking as wind moved the upper regions of the very tall tree.

Southern California has green-leafed trees, too, deciduous trees. They are the ones that drop leaves in fall and grow fresh ones in spring. But color? I don’t remember noticing any color other than green turning to a sort of beige, then some maybe yellowish. Certainly, no orange or red.

Moving to New England introduced me to fall colors. Stunning. Massachusetts was a place of many green hills and rolling landscapes. Plenty of space for woods with leaves, leaves that turn color in the fall. Our region was inundated with people from New York City, Boston and even the Midwest. They came to see the color each fall. Small, lonely country roads were now packed with leaf peepers. Yes, we came to know them by that name.

We get good fall color in Illinois and Wisconsin. And we drive to see this special seasonal bouquet of color. I am attuned to it like any good New Englander is. Funny, that; I don’t think of myself as a New Englander really, nor a New Yorker. Lived in both places, yes, but not a denizen. No, I am a Californian at heart now transposed to Illinois. Been here 63 years counting college. That should make me a denizened Midwesterner!

Drove to church the other day. Two orange-red trees stood in stark repose. There they were. Bold and beautiful. It took my breath away, like every year as an adult. Such beauty. Such reminder of changing nature. The beautiful before the gruff winter gray and icy precipitation. The beauty before the ugly. A reminder too that spring follows the nasty. Buds revisit in April and slowly green the landscape. Soon there will be great, green leaves. They will grace our lives for several months before relinquishing to startling colors. A reward for living through three wonderful seasons. Courage to survive the fourth!

October 16, 2024

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more