Tinges of Autumn

Today for the first time I see brushes of color appearing on the trees. Just a touch mind you. A faint hint of red here, a little dab of yellow there. Like graying at the temples, this foretaste of autumn coyly teases from the most unexpected places. A glance out the window as I am driving. A promise viewed from the Fireside Reading Room overlook. A tiny taste of color way high on the landscape seen from the Reference Desk. Yes, fall is coming. I know it is just around the corner, because for the first time, Wegman's is selling fresh cider. Yum and smack.  I can taste the tang and my tongue shivers with delight.

Flashbacks to the old tumbledown cider mills and presses Dad used to frequent this time of year. Visions of apples scattered beneath loaded tress, the drops our goal for filling bags because they were cheaper than picking off the trees. The smell of fresh baked doughnuts and the buzzing of bees seeking their last meal of summer before hibernation sets in. Glorious sprays of mums dotting the landscape with gold and maroon and purple. Ah, fall! Come, blessed season. Bring us your cool air, your brilliance, you closing days of sun and blue sky without the ice of winter. Let us shuffle through the fallen leaves when they come and remind ourselves that this season, like all the other seasons, offers us unique blessings and sumptuous fare. Let us fully appreciate what we have while we still have it.