First Day of Fall

I stepped out of the house the other morning onto a front walk peppered with leaves. “How can this be?” I wondered. Yes, we’ve had a cool snap, but it’s only September! Then, I remembered that everything has been about two weeks ahead this season, and was shocked to realize that while I appreciated the two extra weeks in the spring, I’m missing them now! I'm not ready for Fall!

I know this poem by Shakespeare isn’t about Fall, but I think about it every year when I see the maples changing color and dropping their leaves. (Sorry about the lack of photos this morning, but it's pouring buckets of rain.)

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth from the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed whereon it must expire,
Consumed by that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

What is Fall like where you are? And, happy Spring to those of you “Down Under!”

Unexpected Beauty

I like those decorative plaques and stepping stones people have in their gardens. Some of them have flowers or birds or butterflies on them. Others have quotes. Many of the quotes are anonymous, “Delight in the beauty that surrounds you” or proverbs from various cultures: “Whoever loves and understands a garden will find contentment within.” Chinese Proverb.

Some are by writers well known for their connection to nature, “The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it,” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “My profession is to always find God in nature,” Henry David Thoreau. It’s not surprising to find a quote by either Shakespeare, “April has put a spirit of youth in everything” or Jane Austen, “To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon the verdant green hills is the most perfect refreshment.”

But, Dorothy Parker is not a writer whose name you expect to see on a garden stone! You expect wit – sharp and biting – “She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B,” “I don’t care what’s written about me as long as it isn’t true,” and “You can’t teach an old dogma new tricks.” You don’t expect beauty from Dorothy Parker. Yet, there it was, on a garden stone at one of the local nurseries: “Flowers are heaven’s masterpiece—Dorothy Parker.”

The stone’s price was more than I was willing to pay, but I’m going to keep my eye on it and pick it up when there's a sale later in the season. It will serve as a reminder of unexpected beauty.