Monday, October 12, 2015

Autumn Envy by Aileen Fish

I grew up in the greater Los Angeles area. In spite of what people say, we have four seasons. The difference is three of them are brown and one is green. It's only the temperature that varies.



I didn't much miss the beautiful colors of fall as a child; you don't realize you're missing something you never had. My mom had also grown up in Los Angeles, but she dreamed of seeing all the fall leaves changing. One year Dad made her wish come true by taking her to New England in October.

A few years back I got to see what I was missing when I moved to Missouri in the fall. No one had prepared me for what I saw. Driving down a winding, rolling highway I reached the peak of a hill only to see a sea of color spreading for miles. I was speechless! The variations of yellows and oranges, the slow-changing greens...there was nothing else like it.



Driving through my neighborhood there is where I discovered the real magic of fall. As the sunlight falls though those orange and yellow leaves, it takes on their hue, so the air around you glows. I would slow down each time I approached a large tree beside the road just to be in the radiance as long as I could.

Yes, my neighbors probably thought I was odd, and they were right. But I was living in the moment, enjoying my surroundings.

I miss the changing leaves, but I still appreciate what fall brings in Southern California. The cooling temperatures are a blessing after weeks of hundred-degree weather. We can sit outside again. The dogs will lie in the sunlight and enjoy it for a change.

It's also quiet. The air conditioner no longer comes on, and the heater hasn't been turned on, so you can hear the world outside. With the dogs, that's not always a good thing, as they have to scare everything away.

~*~
USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Fish is an avid quilter and auto racing fan who finds there aren't enough hours in a day/week/lifetime to stay up with her "to do" list. There is always another quilt or story begging to steal away attention from the others. Her books include The Bridgethorpe Brides series and the Small Town Sweethearts series. Stay up to date with book releases at her website http://aileenfish.com or on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Her latest release, The Cowboy's Christmas Bride, is included in the Sweet Christmas Kisses 2 anthology, available now at the major vendors.

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12 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing those glorious colors. I do still miss the beauty of fall in New England (and places like Missouri, I see, although I've never been). On the other hand, I'm glad to be half-way through October and only have turned off the a/c yesterday - still haven't had to pull out our winter clothes, so I guess it's a fair trade!

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    1. I never thought of the late summer being a good thing. Thanks for the perspective!

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  2. I'm the California girl right there with you! Love me some brown grass and sprawling oaks (and the green grass for 2-4 months of the year). I do love those turning leaves tho.

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    1. I forgot about the grass turning green again. Most of my lawn is dead, and the whole thing will be replaced by bark before the rains hit. I hope.

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  3. Ahh, good things about wherever we live.... Though I sure do love fall and the colors. Spent last weekend up in the Pocono Mts in Pennsylvania, where the leaves are turning almost as you look at them.. so gorgeous. Feel so blessed to have seen it!

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  4. Sounds like southern Arizona. We have a couple of kinds of trees that change color -- in January!

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    1. We have some go yellow, but it doesn't always get cold enough for the rest to do anything but turn brown and fall off the tree.

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  5. Aileen, I understand your envy. I used to live in New England, so I know what fall colors really look like.

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  6. We're just entering peak color here in northern WI. Beautiful!

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  7. Where I live in Australia we have four seasons but the colours are nothing like in North America. I lived in Canada for awhile and all other Autumn colours are nothing compared to what I saw in my time living there.

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