Little black bats fly around, webs stretch out in all directions. Kinglets flit around the trees in an endless search of tiny insects. Great horned owls take over the trilling insects in the night chorus. Leaves begin their slow dance to the ground. Fall is certainly in full focus right now.
Flashback with me to sometime in August, there were a few leaves dusting the ground in the area around one of our garden beds. It seemed too soon I thought, that leaves were adding a dash of messy to my garden. I was with a friend at the time, and part of my thoughts were: “It is too soon to see leaves fall. I don’t like them falling now…it is like it means time to go back to school.” My friend, and fellow native plant enthusiast immediately retorted: “I dunno, I kind of like it…it adds some texture to the ground.”
You know how they say it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile? Well, at that moment, I realized that seeing the negative in something often comes easier than seeing the positive. It is so easy to dive into a downward spiral, but I find it is much harder to reach back up for the top than it is to reach for the top first. But from that moment, I see those early leaves differently now. It is truly a matter of perspective. I could choose to see the untimeliness of the leaves, or I could see that it was nature’s way of signalling change and adding to the ever changing compass of the Earth’s daily calendar.
There is something about the way thick heavy dark clouds are sunkissed by a fall setting sun seem more stunning. The rainbow of reds, yellows and ambers seem to glow during pop up storms bringing in winds of cooler fall air. This year the fall air seems to be stalling its journey. And with it, blanket covered evenings and dewy damp mornings. And soon enough the wavering glow of a Jack-o-lantern. The smells of cinnamon and pumpkin spice warm the kitchen. Outside, the migrating warblers on the move. Keeping my camera always ready for the occasional pass through, like this Golden Crowned Kinglet I photographed from my deck. Their lighting fast movements are often too quick for me. I am often discouraged by the inability of my camera to keep up with them. It’s me. Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me. I need to keep a steady focus. We all do. Reach for the positive before the negative. Insert <smile> here. As long as the camera is charged, the focus is there, I just need to dive into it, looking up.