Beginnings and Endings
No one in my family liked summer. Probably because we lived in New York City and summer is not fun there. Moving upstate changed all that. I must admit to a weakness for those beautiful June days when the temperature reaches perfection, the sky is blue with fluffy clouds, and a soporific breeze wafts through the trees. And true, one has much more time with the four or five extra hours of sunlight. Still in all, when the first hints of fall come I am bordering on ecstatic.
First there is the change in light. The sun, still hot in mid-September, does not pack the punch it did in July, when one could be outdoors for an hour and come in with a change in skin color. Temperatures cool. The grass does not grow as fast. The “blood” of the trees starts to flow back into the trunk causing leaves to change color. Walnuts, acorns and apples fall. The bats leave the attic for warmer climes, giving us yet another chance to plug up holes inside to keep them outside next summer. Summer houses are closed down. Traffic on the Taconic Parkway lessens. Schools are in full session. And vacations are over. Time to “hunker down” again and mean business. Fall offers a new beginning and there is a tinge of excitement added to the anxiety in facing some thing new.
And most of all, fall is a time of riotous color, when a walk in the woods finds one reveling like a drunk, besotted by the yellow, orange, crimson, russet world which our eyes imbibe like a hefty cocktail. It is a time when Italian comes to the lips in a loud “Que bella!!” The green of summer is bucolic and raises the spirit, but the many colors of fall intoxicate. People start talking of peak color, and leafing becomes the pastime of many. It is the time to plant bulbs and endlessly rake blowing leaves.
But fall is a time of melancholia, too. Flowers die. Reptiles go into hibernation. Insects die or overwinter. Songbirds migrate. Trees eventually loose their leaves. Anxiety over new beginnings can be uncomfortable. And the end of the lazy days of summer brings with it shorter days, longer nights, and possible depression for many people. Moments of sobriety seep into intoxication with the new world of color as we may remember loved ones who can no longer share the beauty… who can no longer enjoy those cold crisp days that start in September and flourish in October, days so coveted in August, when coolness brushes the cheeks. For autumn is a celebration of endings, too, perhaps best described by the French poet, Appollinaire, in his poem Autumn:
“A bowlegged peasant and his ox receding
through the mist slowly through the mist of autumn…
Oh the autumn the autumn has been the death of summer
In the mist there are two gray shapes receding.”
MOONSIDE 
Beautiful. The words and pictures capture such a continuum of emotion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 4, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Thank you, Dayle.
LikeLike
October 4, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Gorgeous photos, Ellen! Lovely philosophical narrative!🍁
LikeLiked by 2 people
October 4, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Thank you so very much, Cheryl! Much appreciated!
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 4, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Love this! Autumn is a beautiful season and indeed a time of preparation for colder days ahead. I love the tangy snap of fireplace smoke as the days grow shorter. 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 4, 2025 at 9:08 PM
From one Autumn lover to another, enjoy it for it goes so quickly! And thank you for your comment!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 4, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Fabulous fall images! Thank you, Ellen, for taking me through the beautiful metamorphis of summer into autumn. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 4, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Nancy, so very glad you liked the post and photos. Enjoy your Fall and thank you for your lovely comment.
LikeLike
October 4, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Autumn is definitely my favorite season. There’s a mysticality in the air that words fall short of describing. But that touches my depths in magical ways. Maybe because I am a child of Autumn, or maybe because I feel called home, to my center and roots. Yet, I agree with you, Ellen; on some days, there’s also a sort of melancholia. Thank you, my friend, for this wonderful piece that you decorated well with deep feelings and great photos. Much enjoyed!! With appreciation, sending you blessings, love, and light your way ✨🙏🍁
LikeLike
October 5, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Oh child of Autumn, thank you for your beautiful comment! It means so much to me. Enjoy our favorite season. Many, many blessings to you for your birthday and the whole season. ❤️🙏🏽
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 5, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Nature has so many different musings, we can spend a whole lifetime by just staring at it. Very beautiful pictures too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 5, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Yes, you are right. Nature has so many faces… the faces of God… I see them most clearly in Fall. Glad you liked the pictures!! And thank you for so many “likes” on my blog. I enjoyed looking at yours. Will share some of your posts and subscribed. I loved your posts on India best of all. Thank you, Ellen🙏🏽
LikeLike
October 6, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Ellen, that was so beautiful. Perfect description of what’s happening to us right now. Just wonderful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Gigi, I am so glad you liked it!! I thought you wouldn’t because I know you love summer. This summer though was kind of a bummer. Anyhow thank you so much!
LikeLike
October 5, 2025 at 8:59 PM
It wasn’t a good summer at all. But this beautiful fall is making it for it. It’s so wonderful and your post was just perfect.
LikeLike
October 5, 2025 at 9:01 PM
🥰
LikeLike
October 5, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Wistful ruminations. The loss of summer’s vibrancy preceding change to time of beauty. Even in Arizona summer has given way to autumn, just not so colorfully.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 5, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I don’t think it will be that colorful in NYC this fall. The leaves have been scorched from the very hot, dry weather this summer. I guess the same in AZ.
LikeLiked by 2 people
October 5, 2025 at 10:17 PM
You’ve captured the drama of this season perfectly. I love the comparison of looking at the leaves to having a “hefty cocktail”. I might have to take a large swig today, as the sugar maples around these parts are looking fiery red. 🍁
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 6, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Thank you Julie! You have that hefty cocktail!! No doubt a beautiful painting will emerge… Enjoy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 6, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Ellen, your vision of Autumn is excellent. All these changes are so beautifully described. My feeling about Autumn completely coincides with your lovely post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 6, 2025 at 10:12 AM
A kindred spirit! Thank you so much… glad you liked the post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 6, 2025 at 10:42 AM
🍁🍁🍁🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 6, 2025 at 10:54 AM
🙏🏽
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I can relate to the melancholia of Autumn, and happy that we are headed into Spring. Take care my friend, Linda xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 12, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Happy Spring!! Thank you, you take care, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 12, 2025 at 8:40 PM
🥰
LikeLike
October 12, 2025 at 9:44 PM
So beautifully written, Ellen! I love how you depict the melancholy of Autumn in the midst of its display of “riotous color”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 12, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Thank you so much, Dee! It means so much to me that you appreciated the writing and that juxtaposition!
LikeLike
October 13, 2025 at 9:14 AM