Color Me Happy

Fall is edging closer today. The air is crisp with a touch of winter chill. Leaves crunch underfoot when I walk my dogs through the woods near our home. Rugby and Willow like to chase squirrels whenever they have the audacity to come down from their high tree perches and whip their tales around like a starter flag at the Indie 500. Sadly, the pups always lose that chase and content themselves with sniffing out damp, mossy ground near the edge of the path.

The white, blue, lavender and yellow wild flowers that recently bloomed throughout the woods and brightened our walks with their colorful nodding heads, are nearly all gone now. Instead, trees proudly wear autumn foliage in red, yellow, and orange. A bed of fallen leaves already covers the ground along much of the path, turning slowly from vibrant to dull and rusty.

We walk these trails nearly every day, listening to the chatter of squirrels, birdsong, and the creaking of limbs above our heads. Not far away is the busyness of life; cars speed here and there, the high school band plays on the field behind the school, kids chatter and laugh in the yard of a daycare. But in the confines of these towering trees, for the length of half an hour or so, we feel secluded in our own little forest.

I love autumn and the changing of the season. I love wearing sweatshirts and jeans and not getting hot. I love the smell of a bonfire and no longer needing bug spray. I love toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate and watching the stars light up the night sky.