kaleidescope

Walking along the leaf-scattered trail, I stop for a moment on the bridge by the creek and take in the beauty and the glory that is Nature. So tranquil, so serene, so perfect for a Hallmark I wish for my camera. Never is there such beauty as when enjoying a moment alone in the midst of a forest. I am alone, unbothered by other humans. I hear the drip-drip-drip of rain falling from the leaves and dropping onto the mud-covered trail. Acorns fall from the trees in random spontaneity, accompanied by the occasional pine cone or the walnut. Such annoyance accompanied by hilarity reach me as I encounter their touch on the back of my head. I smile to myself. I trek further up the muddy trail, trying desperately to despise the mud that splatters on my Levis. I recall memories from the past and adventures with family. Mud pies with acorn centerpieces and bits of color from torn up leaves. Red orange yellow leaves. A kaleidoscope of color, minute, fragmented, easily picked up by a stray wind and carried away. The forest smells like Autumn, a fragrant muskiness specific to this time of the year. I inhale the fragrance, treasuring it. There is nothing better than the smell of autumn in the air. Autumn enriches my spirit, fills me with joy and wanderlust, and I always want to become a sudden wayward traveler who leaves their worries behind. I will travel light and carry only what is needed. I will drive with the windows down, the wind in my face, seeing everything there is to see along the country roads. I will drive, and I will drive some more, stopping only when Nature has had Her way again. She will grow tired of this landscape, as she does with all the others, and she will beckon Winter to come forth.