Fallen Leaf

The late American author and journalist Hal Borland was quoted in the October 2012 edition of tasteforlife magazine, a quote that I thought was well suited to the last day of this month:  "October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen."  As we say goodbye to another October today, I look at the fallen leaves, the few that still cling to the trees (such as those stubborn oaks) and the wider horizon now made visible.  The landscape is changing once again, this time to its quieter palette, one that is readying itself for the winter.  There was a time when I looked at the end of October with sadness, for I knew that the silent season to come was going to be too cold, too snowy, too long for my tastes.  But, this year, I'm looking at it with a new view, perhaps seeing that wider horizon to which Mr. Borland referred.  After a busy summer and an oddly even busier autumn, like the landscape, I'm readying myself for a quieter time.  In the winter, I can steal a guiltless nap, read good books and stoke my fire with new energy for the more hectic springtime.  Farewell, October.  Thank you for the blaze of color you provided and for the gift of the wider horizon I see today.