The trees!  They are magnificent.  Even here on the edge of the city they’re exploding into brightness so brilliant it practically has auras.  There’s been a spate of rainy days so everything’s more striking, bursts of red and gold against a low gunmetal sky.  The chill in the air finishes it all off perfectly.  Yesterday was Halloween; for the first time the wind really kicked up, and after dark there was a driving rain.  This morning I was thinking we must have lost the leaves but there they still are, hanging on.

Such seasonal perfection surely can’t last.  I do not venture far from the windows; I don’t want to miss a minute of it.  I’ve been spoiled by fall this year:  during our trip up north for my sister’s wedding, the colors at our destination were peaking as we arrived.  The days were uniformly blustery, all high blue skies and bright sun, trees shining.  We stayed for 4 days and by the time we made the return drive, the trees for the entire route home had also reached their peak.  There was snow for the first 2 hours of the drive, then frigid wind and rain; the trees practically strobed against that deep autumnal sky.  We were rapt for the full 8 hours.

And as the trip had been marred by a couple practically back-to-back emergencies still in the process of resolving, the beauty of the drive was a very welcome distraction.  Arriving home, the color change began here and advanced slowly, with stately progress.

I almost feel like we’ve earned it, after the past 3 months or so.

Preparations for that trip took a ton of time and money and energy away from the beginning of the semester, and I paid for it in more ways that one.  Things have settled down now, so I’ve been writing regularly again.  Emergency situations were quickly resolved.  All that remains to do for the moment is think, relax, and admire November.