Fall Foliage Brilliance

 An ode to the trees is warranted.

Have you seen their brilliant yellows, oranges and reds around town?

Have you thanked them for their brilliance in showing up just when we need them?

Have you shared with them a story or two, sharing your brilliant colors in return?

The trees are magnificent this year, and today’s blog is a shout out to let them know their colorful gifts to our brownish NM landscape has not gone un-noticed.

As we often host out-of-town guests for Thanksgiving, I find myself apologizing for the brownish landscape.

“See that bare cottonwood over there? Just two weeks ago, it had bright yellow leaves that were incredible. 

[Skeptical look on relative's face]

"Here, let me show you a picture on my phone.”

 

I think this moment gives us a chance to learn and reflect as well.

The trees remind us that there is a season for everything.

The leaves must fall to nourish the earth so that the cycle of life can continue. Their work has not finished just because they fell from the tree. It is continuing, a next part of their journey.

The branches must become bare as winter calls for an energetic hibernation for all creatures, a redistribution of resources to survive through the winter.

The bare branches also a necessity for us to then appreciate the first green buds and leaves in the spring, lest we take such things for granted.

 

What lessons do you see + feel + hear in this transition moment?

Our 4 kiddos in front of trees @ Tingley Beach on Tuesday.