Autumn

I've always said spring is my favorite season followed by summer and then autumn with winter bringing up the rear. 

However, I think I'm a 'closeted' autumn person.  I seem to like its colors best, yellow, red, orange and dozens of shades of brown.  Chrysanthemums are probably my favorite flower, I like their musky, spicy smell, and oh, the colors, gold, white, yellow, bronze, red, burgundy, pink, lavender, purple, then there are the varieties, quill, spider, pompom, single and balled each one unique and a thing of beauty.

Of course, there are the autumn leaves.  Driving along a highway, you will see hillsides ablaze of color.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, the red, orange and yellow deciduous trees nestled among the dark green Douglas Firs, make huge patchwork quilts, running for miles in the bright sunshine.  It's a scene to take your breath away. 

A slow meander on a warm October afternoon reveals the true marvel of this time of year, when the leaves begin to fall.  There are deep burgundy oak, brilliant red maple, bright yellow tulip and cottonwood leaves drifting, floating, falling hither and yon.  Oh, the joy of scuffing your feet through the leaves of a strand of alder, ash and sycamore trees their musty odor awaking your sense of smell, making you want to sneeze.

Squirrels scamper, birds migrate from their summer mountain living quarters heading for milder climates, geese fly over head in gaggles large and small, day and night.  Nature slows, preparing for months of sleep. 

Warm summer breezes give way to chilly wind gusts and bluster.  The smell of smoke wafts over the neighborhood as neighbors stoke their fireplaces and wood burning stoves.  It's time for shorter days and longer nights, afghans, wool sweaters, hot chocolate or toddies, soups and stews, pumpkin bread and pies...can you smell them, are your taste buds waking?

It is easy to paint a picture of autumn, nature provides the color and does work.  All I have to do is provide the words, no wonder I like autumn best.