Autumn's Refrain

“We did not come to remain whole. We came to lose our leaves.” ~ Robert Bly

The grand show begins.

For the past two weeks, we’ve been offered hints and winks of color, especially along the rivers where the occasional sugar maple flames red.

We had another week of 80-something weather, which snapped yesterday. Now, we’re swinging into 60-degree days. Yesterday, during a two-hour hike in the last hours of daylight, we walked on crunchy leaves for the first time.

We need rain, and we’ll get it midweek.

Samwise relishes the cooler air almost as much as I do. He bounces, instigates running wrestling matches with Emily, pants less, and is determined to lead.

He had his latest Librela injection on Monday, which clearly helps with his spinal arthritis. No wonder some refer to it as a wonder drug. It has made his aging body younger and more fluid.

The scents are alive as summer cedes to autumn, and Emily and Samwise become connoisseurs of everything sniffable in the natural world. I almost envy them. More than Samwise, Emily will become so intoxicated by woodland scents…