Close up summer

Time to close up summer. This shot is from a couple of nights back. Tonight it is raining for the first time since early July. Oh sure there have been meager little splurts of showers here and there, but no rain for ages and ages. So it's good to see, or at least hear, on the windows.

Fall is my favourite season and so I can't wait for it to come. I love the smell of drying and rotting leaves and their crunch underfoot. I love that my dogs are more frisky and can't get enough of hiking around. I like feeling cool and having to bundle up in a sweater. I like being able to see further in the bush, after the leaves come down. The days are still long and so there's great opportunities for being active outdoors.

The turning of the leaves and tamarac needles can be so spectacular. Some drives I do just to catch a glimpse of Van Gogh's spirit in the trees. Growing up in Southern Ontario my family would drive hours to reach a stretch of farmer's road where the hardwoods formed a dense tunnel over the skinny road that went on and on. Once we reached the end of this incredible tunnel, we'd turn around and drive through it slowly again. And again. And again. That was the entire purpose of a lengthy drive. Around here, moose maples will blaze red and orange, the tamaracs a strong yellow and the abundant evergreens provide the contrast.

It is a time to harvest and to take stock; putting up preserves and mending winter gear. I love the preparations necessary for a long and oft times brutal winter. And as a child I always loved "back to school" . To me fall signifies the beginning of the year and the new cycle. I look forward to it with a renewed vitality and hope.