Guess I’m feeling my age but it was too cool to sit in the swing and ponder today. I went to the lady den and watched my world through the room’s nine windows. The birds, enjoying their sunflower seeds, frolicked back and forth from the bannisters to the feeders. Saw three different butterflies tap dancing and feeding on my fuchsia zinnia blooms. The short row of zinnias came up from last year’s seeds and are so vibrant in their colors. I haven’t cut any blooms ‘cause I’m delighted in watching the butterflies and hummingbird moths enjoy their beauty.

I watched the bamboo dance all day in the cool breeze, leaning over and patting each other. Their leaves are highlighted yellow like they just touched the tip of their leaves to Mother Nature’s palette, sliding them through the yellow pool of paint.

Mother Nature’s critters are preparing for the cold weather, too, and it’s fun to see squirrels and chipmunks stuffing their cheeks with acorns. A squirrel can hold two acorns in their mouth but a chipmunk can hold six! Read about chipmunks and research says a chipmunk can hold 70 sunflower seeds or 31 corn kernels in their cheeks. I think the chipmunks in my yard are eating more than they are storing. Didn’t know a chipmunk could be so big and bold. But there are four who have taken over the porch and boldly stop and gaze at me and Penelope. I think they are in food comas!

I love the changing seasons. I love sweater weather. The colors of fall are magical to me. Mother Nature does some of her best paintings on fall leaves, the vibrant colors of the sunsets reflected on the delicate skin of the leaves. The yellows and reds and purples and oranges dress the trees in their fall frocks and flaunt themselves against the beautiful curtain of the sky canvas Father Sky has colored azure blue.

Fall leaves represent the cycle of life. The leaves bud out and grow, dress themselves in wondrous colors, drop from the tree branches, and float slowly to the ground to die. We don’t mind the leafless trees because we enjoyed the beauty of their fall foilage. We know the spring will bring new green leaves to fill the trees’ branches and shade our porches.

Autumn is the transition between summer and winter. Temperatures are dropping and the day light hours are getting shorter. Fall teaches us to embrace each day, to harvest our thoughts, and prepare for the coming winter. Fall also reminds us that sometimes we need to let go of things in order to grow. Trees shed their leaves in the fall and we might realize we’re holding on to thoughts or actions we need to let fall away.

I think our fall might be the years right before we realize we’ve found ourselves old. We’ve lived through the spring and summer years of our lives and are moving from our fall years into our winter years. We’ve shed our leaves and are ready to boldly dress our naked branches, searching for perfect items to hang on our limbs.

We can choose our own paths. We can walk boldly and colorfully through the coming years. We can drop our leaves or gather nuts for the coming winter. We can slow down and nurture ourselves. We can remember that fall leaves don’t fall down. They fly to the ground and they dance in the wind.

“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days,” — George Burns