This is the tenth fall for this "Autumn Flame" Maple. We panted it the first year we lived in this house. It replaced a giant Pin Oak that was struck by lightning.
Its had prettier years, but our weather has been wacky; a very late spring freeze, then too dry, then too wet (or so they say) for pretty fall foliage. Still, the last few days and into this week the weather has been gorgeous. Sunny, with cool crisp mornings and warm afternoons. Perfect!
My decorations have been up for weeks and I am all ready for Halloween. Over the years I've amassed quite a charming collection of unique Halloweenies. Like these:
And These:
But for me these are scary days. The days that are getting shorter, and grayer, and colder. Days that, in the past, I have slid down the slippery slope of anxiety, insomnia, depression. And I'm trying, really really trying, to keep a positive outlook. And I feel better this year than I have in a long time. But when I wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning and lie staring at the ceiling, the voice in my head? Does not have much confidence in me.
3 comments:
wIt gives a whole new side of scary to Halloween. That voice in the middle of the night never has anything positive to say in my experience.
Autumn is a beautiful time of year, but also a sad time, with so much dying and going dormant. I turn on lots of lights (electric bill be damned) and sit a moment in the sun whenever it is out and occasionally let myself wrap up in a down blanket and stay in for a day (and hope it doesn't turn into a week)
Hang on, and you can always drown out that middle of the night voice by repeating annoying song lyrics over and over and over...whether you want to or not.
I remember being 9 years old and feeling really puzzled when I heard a friend's mom say how much she hated the fall, because everything was dying. And now I understand - another year over, gone, never to be seen again; fewer years in front than behind....that whole mortality thing.
But a good cup of hot cocoa and a good book are always helpful. Think cosy, not dying. I love cosy. And I love maples, much more than pin oaks.
I'm with you on the winter thing, sister. Long, cold, and dreary are not my cup of tea.
It's a beautiful tree. I have a butt-ugly sugar maple in my backyard.
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